Documentaries don’t have to be technically great to be irresistible, and Bess Kargman’s First Position, which follows six young ballet dancers as they prepare for an elite competition, is a case in point. You may think you can guess what’s going to happen by the end of First Position: Some will win and others won’t, there will be some tears shed, this or that dancer will be sidelined by an injury – and yet somehow, even though nothing hugely surprising happens, the details Kargman captures somehow feel fresh. Maybe that’s because this isn’t just a documentary about ballet and the extraordinary discipline it requires; it’s also about youth and its attendant hopes and risks, spelled out in language that’s painfully universal.
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Cinco de Mayo weekend will surely belong to Marvel's The Avengers, which has already racked up $18.7 million in U.S. grosses courtesy of last night's midnight screenings. The superhero filled adventure has been pegged as possibly this year's biggest box office draw — time will tell. But for those who want to check out something else besides superheroes (or want to resuscitate from its aftermath) there are plenty of specialty releases opening this weekend including Fox Searchlight's India-set The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Sundance Selects' dance doc First Position, ATO's water doc Last Call at the Oasis, Kathleen Turner starrer The Perfect Family. And, if you need a little more Samuel L. Jackson in your life post-Avengers, check out his other opener Meeting Evil.
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![First Position Clip: What's it Take to Be a Boy in Ballet? [Exclusive]](http://movieline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/first_position_grab645-120x67.jpg?w=120&h=120&crop=1)
After an award-winning festival run, the ballet-competition documentary First Position opens today in limited release via IFC Films and Sundance Selects. (It debuts May 15 on VOD.) Director Bess Kargman's film chronicles six young dancers' passionate pursuit of glory at the Youth America Grand Prix, trailing along as they (per the film's synopsis) "prepare for a chance to enter the world of professional ballet, struggling through bloodied feet, near exhaustion and debilitating injuries, all while navigating the drama of adolescence." Think Racing Dreams in pointe shoes, and you're on your way. Meanwhile, click through for an exclusive clip spotlighting another kind of dance-world complication: Being a boy in ballet.
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