Dance me to my song - by Rolf de Heer (1998)

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Dance me to my song - by Rolf de Heer (1998)

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Dance me to my song - by Rolf de Heer (1998)

A woman trapped in a twisted body from her bouts with the debilitating cerebral palsy communicates with the world via her computer with a voice box. Her caretaker is a short-tempered woman who begrudges the woman the care she needs. Things change when Rose bumps into a young man who starts giving her attention. This leads her to start fantasizing about a real sexual relationship. However, the caretaker takes an interest in the man, as well, which leads to the dramatic conclusion.

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Dance me to my song - by Rolf de Heer (1998)

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The film is the creation of Rolf de Heer and Heather Rose (who plays Julia). Together they worked on the script attempting to achieve a dramatic film remarkably different from just another ‘disability film’. While Dance Me to my Song could be accused of adopting the ‘super cripple’ format ¾ it has all the features of the inspirational role ¾ the focus on disabling structures and prejudice prevents this classification.

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Dance me to my song - by Rolf de Heer (1998)

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In developing the character of Julia, de Heer sought to present her on an equal level to the able bodied characters in the film; ‘She’s just Julia, no longer the disabled character any more than Madeline is the character with brown hair or Eddie is the character with the muscular body’. Julia, who uses a wheelchair for mobility is only disabled when Madeline leaves her alone in the house with the lock on her wheel chair on or puts her voice synthesizer in another room. When this doesn’t happen Julia is extremely independent, she goes outside and sits in the sun (where she met Eddie) or meets up with her friend Rix for some drinks.

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Dance me to my song - by Rolf de Heer (1998)

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Throughout the film we see the world from Julia’s perspective. Point of view shots are restricted to what Julia sees, taking the gaze off her impaired body. Julia’s self assurance can be seen in her interactions with Madeline and Rix. Despite Madeline’s harsh treatment toward her, Julia understands that Madeline is experiencing a different kind of suffering. When with Rix, Julia remains constant in her identity as a drinking buddy, even trying to seduce her at one stage.

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Dance me to my song - by Rolf de Heer (1998)

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Dance me to my song - by Rolf de Heer (1998)

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Julia’s experiences of activities typical of nondisabled women such as getting drunk with a girlfriend and telling her how much you love her are juxtaposed with the extreme social prejudice Julia experiences on a daily basis. When Eddie and Julia go to a corner shop for an ice cream they both agree that the prices are too high but the woman working there singles Julia out taking issue with her personal attitude. She is overly nice to Eddie and speaks to him about Julia as though Julia is not there. When Julia swears they are asked to leave as the shop worker attempts to avoid having to gaze on a disabled person who refuses to fit in and be quiet. The film questions why disabled people are isolated from society in this way.