Boléro

In the two decades between the First and Second World War, Maurice Ravel was feted as France’s greatest living composer. His work melded modernism, baroque and neoclassicism, with later compositions also embracing jazz. Ravel is best known for his 1928 composition Boléro, whose conception lies at the heart of Anne Fontaine’s elegant film. It weaves Ravel’s working process and life through his encounters with three women: the Russian dancer Ida Rubinstein, whose commission led to the music’s creation; his patron Misia Sert, and his pianist friend Marguerite Long. Raphael Personnaz stars as the famed composer with Jeanne Balibar as Rubinstein who commissioned the now legendary piece of music.