Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Teen ballet star discovers passion for hip-hop; language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Into the Beat
What's the Story?
Katya (Alexandra Pfeifer) is a promising 16-year-old ballet student working at a top-notch German ballet school. She's preparing to audition for the New York City School of Ballet as INTO THE BEAT begins. Only a few weeks before the audition, her father Victor (Trystan Putter), a famed dancer, falls from a great height during a performance and injures himself badly. Katya soon stumbles into a hip-hop dance school and becomes passionate about the energetic dancing and performers she encounters there, which throws her into conflict. Does she audition for the New York school, as her dancer father has been expecting her to do all her life, or does she disappoint him and audition for a hip-hop troupe ready to do a world-wide tour? Her decision may be influenced by her love for Marlon (Yalany Marschner), a talented street dancer who wants to perform a duo audition with her. She must decide which path is right for her.
Is It Any Good?
Into the Beat raises interesting issues about how we see ourselves in youth and how we create our identities in the world as we grow into adulthood. And with attractive performers, including Alexandra Pfeifer and Yalany Marschner, guiding us along, it's a painless process to watch Katya make difficult decisions.
On the minus side, Pfeifer just doesn't seem enough of a dynamic presence to make the situation believable. During fun scenes of electrically-charged hip-hop dancing, compared to the other, far more riveting dancers, Pfeifer looks like someone forgot to plug her in. What seems most implausible is the notion that even the most gifted ballet dancer could master hip-hop dance moves, so different from ballet moves, in only a few short weeks. Has Katya really achieved a professional level so quickly? The action also relies on silly, manufactured tensions. Katya needs to let Marlon know something important, but instead of texting him, she goes running around town looking for him. Who does that? Still, young dance fans are sure to be enthralled.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what happens when a child expected to go into the family business prefers to do something else in life. How does Katya disappoint her father? In what way, though, does her choice to stay in the world of dance actually honor her father?
Do you think well-meaning parents can sometimes guide kids to pursue careers that aren't right for them? How so?
Do you think that Katya was better at hip-hop or ballet? Why?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : April 16, 2021
- Cast : Alexandra Pfeifer
- Director : Stefan Westerwelle
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 98 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : April 27, 2021
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