SHALL WE DANCE? -- Masayuki Suo, dir

©1997
studio: Miramax
production company: Altamira Pictures Inc., Daiei Studios, Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV), Hakuhodo Incorporated, Nihon Shuppan Hanbai
director: Masayuki Suo
cast: Kôji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, Eriko Watanabe, Yu Tokui
screenplay: Masayuki Suo
Japanese - subitled

A successful but unhappy Japanese accountant finds the missing passion in his life when he begins to secretly take ballroom dance lessons. [from IMDb.com]

*****

Ah, what a premise! How many men can identify? I know I can... a man takes up a new sport/hobby/activity just meet a woman that has caught his attention from a distance. And of course she remains distant even when in close proximity, and yet there's just enough eye contact and smiles to keep the man tethered to his new interest.

The acting here is good and the director keeps the balance quite well. i especially like the man's attitude after he has competed in a ballroom dance competition -- a sense of accomplishment and embarassment at the same time.

I wasn't as taken with the young woman as the man was, and in that sense I had a hard time believing in it. Perhaps it was because of her lack of smile. She never seemed happy and never seemed beautiful.

I look forward to comparing this to the US version with Richard Gere.