I must confess that although I am madly in love with the world of ballet, I had never seen this film that was so successful at the time, and I remember that many people came to criticize the world of classical dance as a result of it (perhaps that is why I refrained from watching it) but now that I finally gave it a chance, although I do not agree with the message it intends to convey (and I will explain my point of view later) I can understand why many people began to speak ill of ballet.

Debo confesar que a pesar de que amo con locura el mundo del ballet, jamás había visto esta película que fue tan exitosa en su momento, y es que recuerdo que mucha gente llegó a criticar el mundo de la danza clásica a raíz de ella (quizá por eso me abstuve de verla) pero ahora que finalmente le di la oportunidad, a pesar de que no estoy de acuerdo con el mensaje que pretende dejar (y luego explicaré mi punto de vista) puedo entender porqué muchas personas comenzaron a hablar mal del ballet.

Nina is a talented ballet dancer, very talented indeed. However, she suffers from insecurity and instability, instilled in her by her possessive and manipulative mother. At one point, Nina receives wonderful news: her talent is finally recognized, as she has been chosen by the ballet company to perform the lead role in Swan Lake. The lead role is very demanding due to its duality (Odette and Odile). Odette is the white swan, a role Nina knows how to play very well because she feels completely identified with her: she is fragile, naive, transparent, and sweet. The problem arises when she plays the black swan, Odile, whose personality is the complete opposite: seductive, manipulative, and deceitful. So, in her quest to build this character, Nina ends up losing herself.

Okay... Where do I begin?... Yes, I think I obviously have to start with the obvious, the reason why many people misrepresented the world of ballet after seeing this film: toxic competitiveness, obsession, extreme perfectionism, envy, abuse, etc... But is that really true? Let's remember that Nina works for one of the most important ballet companies in the world, and in all companies (just like in any job) responsibility, dedication, and commitment are demanded. Of course, there will be envy and competitiveness, but to reach the extreme of obsessing over a role, that's a matter of mental health that will depend on each dancer as an individual. We shouldn't overlook the fact that from the beginning, the film shows us Nina as an insecure young woman. We see how her mother infantilizes her, taking away her power to make decisions about herself, and this obviously leads to an identity crisis that makes her vulnerable to everything and everyone, which is why she allows herself to be abused.

A ver... ¿Por dónde comienzo?... sí, creo que evidentemente debo iniciar por lo evidente, la razón por la cuál muchas personas tergiversaron el mundo del ballet a raiz de esta película: competitividad toxica, obsesión, perfeccionismo extremo, envidias, abusos etc... pero ¿eso realmente es cierto? Recordemos que Nina trabaja para una de las compañías de Ballet más importantes del mundo, y en todas las compañías (al igual que en cualquier trabajo) se exige responsabilidad, entrega y compromiso. Desde luego que va a haber envidias y competitividad, pero llegar al extremo de obsesionarse con un papel, esto ya es una cuestión de salud mental que dependerá de cada bailarín como ser individual. No debemos pasar por alto el hecho de que desde el inicio la película nos muestra a Nina como una joven insegura, vemos la manera en que su madre la infantiliza, quitándole poder de decisión sobre sí misma y esto deriva obviamente en una crisis de identidad que la hace vulnerable a todo y a todos, por eso permite que la abusen.

But having clarified that point, I'd like to talk about the spectacular way the film shows us Nina's story through audiovisual resources. At times we get confused, but that's because in this way we experience the protagonist's delusions, allowing us to understand her a little better. For example, the transformation that happens near the end of the film, between the Pas de Deux and the coda, shows her looking magnificent and wonderful. At the end of the coda, she proudly displays her "royal" wings because she feels she has finally achieved her goal of feeling like Odile (arrogant, deceitful, seductive, and mischievous). I think they chose the perfect moment for this transformation because Odile's coda is the climax of the opera, the moment where she finally tricks the prince into swearing eternal love, something that will represent Odette's downfall, especially since the film chose the most tragic of all three endings in the opera.

The film doesn't intend to denigrate or demonize ballet; it merely criticizes perfectionism and uses ballet as a simple example, just as it could have spoken of painting, singing, acting, or writing—in other words, art in all its forms. The obsessive pursuit of perfection only succeeds in dehumanizing the artist, which is why Nina gradually transforms into a swan (perfectly illustrating this). At the same time, the duality of black and white swan also perfectly represents Nina's desperation to find her own identity, to be herself. Freer like the black swan, she tries to distance herself from the white swan because it represents submission to her. Perhaps that's why they chose the tragic ending, where Odette ultimately dies, because if Odette (the white swan) dies, the naive and timid Nina will die with her.

La película no pretende desvirtualizar el ballet ni satanizarlo, tan solo critica el perfeccionismo y utiliza el ballet como un simple ejemplo, como bien pudo hablar de la pintura, el canto, la actuación o la escritura, es decir, el arte en todas sus expresiones. La búsqueda obsesiva de la perfección solo logra deshumanizar al artista, por eso Nina se convierte paulatinamente en cisne (viene perfecto para ilustrar esto) pero al mismo tiempo la dualidad de cisne negro y blanco también sirven perfectamente para representar la desesperación de Nina por buscar su propia identidad, por ser ella misma, más libre como el cisne negro, pretende alejarse del cisne blanco porque este representa para ella sumisión, quizá por eso eligieron el final trágico, donde Odette finalmente muere, porque si muere Odette (el cine blanco) la Nina ingenua y tímida morirá con ella.

So I truly recommend this movie. Natalie Portman's performance was certainly Oscar-worthy, even though she obviously didn't perform the dance scenes herself but rather a qualified dancer. Her acting ability is undeniable; she made it completely believable. Therefore, for me, it's a 10/10.