FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
Yes we shall
by Kari WatsonShall We Dance?
Opens Friday, July 18
PlazaHave you ever felt an inexplicable void in your life? A gaping, aching hole that, unbeknownst to you, could only be filled by, well, learning to ballroom dance? If so, you are apparently not alone, as is beautifully demonstrated in Masayuki Suo's latest feature, Shall We Dance?
After seeing a beautiful yet lonely woman standing at an open window every evening as he takes the train home, Shohei Sugiyama - played brilliantly by Koji Yakusho - develops an obsession with the young lady, Mai (Tamiyo Kusakari). This obsession leads Sugiyama to seek Mai out at the ballroom dancing studio where she teaches. In an effort to be near her, he takes group dancing lessons, his mind occupied by the young instructor. It is only after Mai confronts him, suggesting it would be very improper and inappropriate if he were taking lessons to get to her, that Sugiyama's obsession shifts from Mai to the art of dance.
Comic relief is provided by Sugiyama's fellow dancers, one dancing for health reasons, one to "show up" his wife the next time she ropes him into dancing publicly, and, of course, from Sugiyama's co-worker, "Donny Aoki," computer systems analyst by day, by night a comical, over-enthusiastic Latin-lover. The film is more than just a believable pseudo-love story, it is comedy, tragedy and triumph-against-the-odds all in one.
Mai's character is upstaged by her brassy and opinionated fellow teacher Toyoko, who steals the show with her unwitting nastiness and who also helps Sugiyama to realize his full dancing potential; transforming the stuffy, lifeless family man accountant into a joyful and vibrant dancer.
Escapism is the door to happiness in this entertaining film, to which ballroom dancing is the key. You'll find more in this film than a wonderful story, you might even pick up a new hobby.
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