"Just Move" documentary about Ido Portal
Republic of Movement had the opportunity to attend the London premiere of “Just Move”, a documentary about our teacher Ido Portal, movement practice, and movement culture. We received permission to screen the documentary in our movement facility, and facilitated a guided discussion afterwards.
In “Just Move”, Brian attempts to clarify the movement perspective that Ido has been exploring for decades, a seemingly intractable nebulous cloud of paradoxes. He does this, not by trying to disentangle it in one strong yank of a thread, but by visiting it from various angles, stepping around and looking for different entry points.
By it's nature, there is no way to capture this perspective as a whole in a single documentary - by picking some facets to focus on, others remain unrevealed. But this is also the ONLY way to approach the ideas contained… by walking around continuously, taking on new angles, revealing more and more.
Ido mentioned in the Q&A - there are various forms of documenting, citing the book as a very limited form. Documentary film also has limitations. The camera points in one direction, but not in another. Moreover, it can never point to itself, and the mere act of pointing at all has an effect on the context (even when it is the fly on the wall).
Brian had no easy task - not only is the perspective complex, the practice itself is constantly changing. How do you take an honest/authentic snapshot of a practice that changes? Especially when observers are so quick to categorize based on first impression? Hopefully, observers do not walk away from this documentary thinking “ah, now I understand”. You have a better understanding, thanks to the meticulous probing of Brian. But keep in mind - you see parts, from one perspective. The practice consists not only of other parts, but those parts will inevitably change into parts that subsequently change again.
The impossibility of completely capturing this movement perspective into a neat little package should never stop us from attempting to describe it. The alternative is to stop speaking entirely, which yields nothing. Most of us, in the face of a complex phenomenon, choose to walk away, to leave it undescribed, because the task is overwhelming and impossible. But there is something else - the joy, the Sissyphian struggle as mentioned in this documentary, of mapping a cloud, exploring from new angles, discovering new territories, and enjoying the journey… isn’t that what life is?
Watch “Just Move” as well as the Q&A that followed at londonreal.tv/