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"Shall
We Dance" Dance Movie Review
Article written by : Pele Lim of RpMerleon, September 1997 |
The first time this movie
was watched was on an SQ flight to USA. It was watched not once but 3 times
on the flight there and another 2 times on the flight back to Singapore. Multiply
that by two persons and the grand total of 10 times re-runs were what you get!
We were at the peak of our "dance fever" stage and could not believe
our luck in being able to catch a dance related movie on a boring long flight
half way across the world. Ecstatic could not describe the feeling but the number
of re-watches can. Watched it through meals, watched it while others were taking
a nap trying to catch up on jet-lag, watched it while others were queuing for
washrooms, watch it while our feet swell to balloon sizes and dreamt of it when
at last we dropped into exhausted naps.
Shall We Dance was last year's smash hit in Japan. The in-flight movie was in
its original Japanese form with English subtitles. Even with the language gap,
we were able to laugh and cry with the character and plots. It was a great revelation
that regardless of race, language or religion, dance enthusiasts from all over
the world experience the same yearnings and heart aches.
Mr. Shohei Sugiyama (Koji Yakusyo) your normal perfect married office working
man (an Accountant) stuck in a daily routine of 5:30am alarm, bowl of rice,
bicycle ride to train station, catch train to work, back home, give daughter
a peck on cheek, sleep and starting all over again daily. During his daily train
rides, he passes by Kishikawe School of Dancing and chanced upon a glimpse of
the beautiful dance instructress, Mai Kishikawa (Tamiyo Kusakari), staring wistfully
out of the studio window.
Wanting to do something different for a change, he joined the dance school in
the evening to satisfy his infatuation with Mai. His tentative advances towards
Mai was spurned and he danced very stiffly, like a robot as with all beginners.
Listening to Mai, he agreed to partner with the equally middle-aged Toyoko and
entered the East Japan Ballroom Contest.
Ms Toyoko Takahashi (Eriko Watanabe) was both a Latin and ballroom dancer, a
very determined lady who poured all her life savings and energy into dance competitions.
She was very intent in competing in both categories and winning them. Persuaded
by Mai, Toyoko agreed to partner with the stiff Sugiyama.
A few dance practices later, everyone agreed that Sugiyama should only try for
the Ballroom event. He became entranced and obsessed with ballroom dancing and
even deployed waltze-like steps in entering his office. At first, his colleagues
laughed at him when they knew he was into dancing but later, were so influenced
that they ended up practicing waltz basics in the gents from him!
In between, Mai the instructress recounted how she lost the chance to enter
the UK Blackpool Modern Final due to a terrible collision suffered during the
semi-finals that knocked her unconscious. This scene was most probably shot
in the real Blackpool Ballroom and Mai and the world famous partner were certainly
of Professional Modern dancing level. Her dance partner never forgave her and
subsequently left for another lady partner. Mai had lived with this regret ever
since and had always wanted to try again in Blackpool with another male dance
partner.
Mr. Tomio Aoki (Naoto Takenaka) was another caricature character who tried very
hard to emulate the great 11 times world Latin champion Donnie Burns. Aoki's
dance moves/techniques were very wild, crazy and exaggerated and he even created
much laughter by wearing a Donnie Burns look-alike hair wig during the same
competition.
Another of Mai's student, the overweight Mr Tanaka who was forever uncoordinated
and was ridiculed by Toyoko as "too fat" therefore cannot dance and
refused to partner him in Latin. Tanaka turned out to be the black horse as
all those ridicules spurred him to practice harder and he became a champion
in the lower dance Latin event.
Meanwhile, Sugiyama's wife suspected he was having an affair due to the many
late nights he claimed working. Sugiyama and Toyoko were progressing through
the heats and semifinals superbly when he suddenly spotted His wife on the audience
seats with his daughter. This caused Sugiyama to lose his footing during the
final and stepped onto Toyoko's ballgown, stripping her to a body suit in the
middle of the competition floor. Embarrassed, she fled the floor thereby forfeiting
their chance of being crowned champions.
What happened in the end? Go watch the movie.
This is a very charming, convivial, hilarious, feel good movie that every dance
enthusiasts can relate to. Not only does it explores the dancing heart aches,
it also explores the struggle for freedom from the suffocating repression and
stifling repetition that one experiences during middle age or in a closed society.
Last
updated: 01 Sep 97
