Shall We Dance? (1995)

Star Review

You could always judge the state of Fred Astaire's latest romance with Ginger Rogers by the mood of their dances. Their body language spoke far more eloquently of their emotions than dialogue ever could and Japanese director Masayuki Suo follows their example in this charming comedy of terpsichorean manners.
The winner of 13 Japanese Oscars, Shall We Dance? was long slated for an American remake starring Tom Hanks. In the end, Richard Gere assumed the role of the frustrated pen-pusher who finds release in ballroom dancing. But any foreign version was bound to miss the essential Japaneseness of Suo's satire. The salaryman - a key figure in the films of Yasujiro Ozu - is much more than a mere straight-laced bourgeois and the shame that Koji Yakusho's accountant feels in entering Tamiyo Kusakari's backstreet dance studio owes more to the sinful reputation of such places than any macho-class anxiety. In a culture where married couples exhibit little public affection, the fact that a respectable family man can liberate his repressed self in the arms of a stranger at an international dance competition is all the more quaintly shocking and quietly invigorating.
The Blackpool finale should help reel in those converted by the cult of Strictly Come Dancing. But while choreography is key to the film's success, this is also very much a human drama, in which marginal characters nursing private sadnesses forge unlikely bonds and flourish as a result. Nothing illustrates this better than the transformation of Naoto Takenaka from balding office nerd to bravura Rumba stud. This may lack the hilarity and sensuality of Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom, but it more than compensates in its self-effacing artistry and the delicate way in which it explores social convention and people's need to fathom their hidden depths.

David Parkinson on 15th January 2005

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Film Description

A delicate and lovely ballroom dancing comedy which was a huge hit in its native Japan. An office worker plucks up the courage to enter classes after he sees a beautiful young woman gazing out of the window. There his repressed self finds liberation in a stranger's arms as they head to an international dance competition.

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Film Details

Cast

Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari

Technical Details