You feel the pressure on the director and his troupe through the daily countdown, which seems, like all deadlines, to move at a faster pace as the day of reckoning approaches.

Even as a profile of a singular artist, though, this soft-focus documentary is missing an essential dimension -- a critical look at the intramural conflict and public controversy that flowed from its hero's reformist role.

Did the film make me want to see Mr. Millepied's ballet, "Clear, Loud, Bright, Forward," on the stage? Yes. And that's high praise.

For the uninitiated, the film never truly articulates just how Mr. Millepied's criticism of the company's archaic traditions - which ultimately led to the fallout - could be perceived as arrogant, incendiary or disrespectful.