'Shall We Dance?'

August 12, 1997

"Bid me discourse, and I will enchant thine ear." Pulling back from a close-up of this Shakespearean quote to the faded glory of a once-proud faux baroque style English dance hall, this endearing, light-hearted film delves into dance as metaphor; in this case, as an antidote to the stiff formalism of Japanese human interaction, governed as it is by the paramount importance of keeping face, or as the narrator says here, "intuitive understanding". The message in Shall We Dance? is a simple, but profound one; cast off that veneer of stiffness and let yourself go - FEEL the music, let it take you away and dance for pure joy. Realize who you are as a human being, and don't fit into that preordained cookie-cutter mold. Only by casting off that socially-imposed aloofness can you attain intimacy in your own personal relations.

Suited, middle-aged, perfectly coiffed Mr. Sugiyama is stuck in his rut of bath/bed /alarm at 5:30 a.m./bowl of rice/bicycle ride to train station/ to work/ from work/ peck daughter on cheek/collapse into bed, and start all over again. On his train rides, he notices a beautiful woman (Mai) staring wistfully out of the window of the Kishikawe School of Dancing. Reflecting on his mundane existence - and no doubt a dose of mid-life crisis - he hesitantly enters the school, at first to follow his infatuation with Mai. Spurned at every turn in his tentative advances towards her, his stiff-backed dance style - all technique and no feeling - evolves as he partners the equally middle-aged Toyoko in their attempt to win the title at the East Japan Ballroom Contest. He learns to keep his body FIRM against his partner's. "He's stiff as a board," cries Toyoko, "but not down there!" as Mr Sugiyama recoils at the "double entendre".

Despite a plot line that has been rehashed over and over (the underdog against the omni- powerful champion), Shall We Dance? avoids descending into melodrama, and its at times rather campy performances conform to the culture from which the film comes - if anything, they enhance the work. What might be considered insulting caricature within a PC-conscious Western context (the effete gay man) strengthens this film. The flamboyant Mr Aoki's extravagant gayness is poignant if only because of his culture's oppression thereof.

The howls of laughter from the audience attest to the film's popular appeal, and its subtextual message elevates it above the manipulative triteness of a Forrest Gump. If you're looking for a 'feel-good' film, catch this one before it disappears.

Peter Lewis
A true African-American, Peter has led a peripatetic lifestle, and after graduating from UCF with a film degree, he is pondering life as another wannabe, devoting his time to working on a novel, his thesis film, a suntan and the dubious benefits of Rogaine.