|
Actors: Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari
|
|
| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Shall We Dance? |
|---|
Shohei Sugiyama (Yakusho) is an overworked accounting executive who has achieved his dreams -- lovely wife, nice teenage daughter, just purchased a good house -- yet remains unaccountably unfulfilled and depressed. One day he spies a beautiful young woman looking sadly out of an upper-story window from his commuter train and, captivated, he investigates. Turns out she's a competitive ballroom dancer, so he signs up for classes to get closer to her but finds himself assigned to lessons with a plump middle-aged woman. He gets to know the mysterious and beautiful Mai (Kusakari) anyway, who is upset because she's broken up with her long-time dance partner. The illicitness in this sweet movie centers not on sex but on ballroom dancing, a suspect form of sport and intimacy in Japan, and is also the source of its considerable humor. (Naoto Takenoka plays Mr. Aoki, a clownish coworker of our hero who also turns up in the class.) Romantic, classy, but with occasional shocks of low comedy, this 1996 Japanese film is both an emulation of and a tribute to the spirit of Astaire and Rogers.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
|
In a film taking its title (and most of its music) from an Astaire-Rogers film of the same name, a married Japanese businessman becomes fascinated with a young dancing school instructor he sees daily from his commuter train. Although he's married, and it's considered unmanly for Japanese men to ballroom dance, his curiosity overcomes his fear. Although he's romantically drawn to her, he realizes its her art he loves and that his wife is first in his life, but still goes on to win the ballroom championship with her, risking the criticism of his business associates.
--Richard Centner, Resident Scholar
|
17 FREE Sci-Fi Ebooks!
FREE "How to be happy" Ebook!
| Analysis of Shall We Dance? |
|---|
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
elements, all of which are searchable (click here). |
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Romance/Love/Hugging
Yes
Kind of romance:
- inconveniently married while playing footsy
Job/Profession/Poverty Story?
Yes
Job:
- dancer
Ethnic/Regional/Gender story?
Yes
Main Char. ethnic: (if not US Caucasian)
- Japanese
Culture of surrounding area:
- Japanese
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- business executive
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- caring
- happy
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Japanese
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn straight
Body type
- (woman) very skinny
How much in movie?
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Japanese
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 60%
- 90%-100%
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Japanese
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Asia/Pacific/Middle East
Yes
Asian country:
- Japan
City?
Yes
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- very happy
Check here if B&W
Yes
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- Japanese
Subtitles?
- Yes
Any profanity?
- None
If lots of song/dance...
- lot of dancing
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Broadway musical
|
| Most similar reviews by Gordonator ranking |
|---|
| Rhapsody in August
starring Sachiko Murase, Richard Gere
|
| Kagemusha
starring Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki
|
| Late Autumn
starring Setsuko Hara, Yôko Tsukasa, Nobuo Nakamura, Shin Saburi
|
| The End of Summer
starring Setsuko Hara, Ganjiro Nakamura, Yôko Tsukasa, Michiyo Aratama, Keiju Kobayashi
|
| Fear and Trembling
starring Sylvie Testud, Kaori Tsuji, Taro Suwa, Yasunari Kondo, Sokyu Fujita
|
|
Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
|
