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Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick
One of the best films of 1997, Shall We Dance? was spotlighted last November in TCU’s foreign film series and will be shown again this Friday in Grapevine. It’s about a middle-aged Tokyo accountant (Koji Yakusho) whose life and marriage have gone stale until the day he sees a beautiful woman (Tamiyo Kusakari) in the window of a dance studio during his train ride home. He goes into the studio and signs up for ballroom dance lessons in hopes of meeting her, but he finds that the dancing itself is far more fulfilling.
Ballroom dancing is doubly stigmatized in Japan, first because Japan’s straitlaced culture frowns on public displays of affection, and second because dancing was introduced to Japan by Americans after World War II and, unlike baseball, didn’t sufficiently catch on to make up for its Yankee origins. Masayuki Suo directs with a feathery touch, as his camera movements swirl with the dancers. (He hasn’t made a film since. Where has he gone?) He also gets a deft performance from Yakusho and a very funny one from Naoto Takenaka as a balding corporate drone who transforms himself into a bewigged, fiery Latin dancer. (Both of these actors are better known for heavier dramatic roles in their own country.) The enormous charm of this comedy will be readily apparent.
Shall We Dance? screens at 7:30pm Fri at Palace Theater, 300 S Main St, Grapevine. Tickets are $2-4. Call 817-410-3100.
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