1996 ‘Shall We ダンス?’ Directed by Masayuki Suô
A bored Japanese accountant sees a beautiful woman in the window of a ballroom dance studio. He secretly starts taking dancing lessons to be near her, and then over time discovers how much he loves ballroom dancing. His wife, meanwhile, has hired a private detective to find out why he has started coming home late smelling of perfume.
Koji Yakusho Tamiyo Kusakari Naoto Takenaka Eri Watanabe Akira Emoto Yuu Tokui Hiromasa Taguchi Reiko Kusamura Hideko Hara Hiroshi Miyasaka Kunihiko Ida Amie Toujou Ayano Nakamura Tomiko Ishii Katsunari Mineno Shûichirô Moriyama Kyōko Kagawa Maki Kawamura Mari Nishino Koichi Ueda Masahiro Motoki Ren Osugi Yudai Ishiyama Paradise Yamamoto Misa Shimizu Hirotaro Honda Masaaki Takarai Goro Kataoka
Shall we dansu?, 쉘 위 댄스, ¿Bailamos?, Shall we Dance?, Vuoi ballare? - Shall We Dance?, Shall we ダンス?, Dança Comigo?, Давайте потанцуем?, 谈谈情跳跳舞, 談談情跳跳舞
Japan
USAPG
Germany0
South KoreaAll
AustraliaPG
Australia
Germany
Japan
South Korea
USA
Such a wonderfully funny and endearing film.
You can change your life at any age.
Never feel that you’re not allowed to be happy.
After finally seeing the remake with JLo and Richard Gere, many people told me about this original version and I finally decided to check it out.
The film has its appeal, and you can tell a lot of the tone and charm of the remake was derived from this one, being slightly different as you would anticipate given that the Japanese sillyness and humour is by default different from the American. The characters are entertaining to watch, and the romance is still nice, and the performers do a terrific job delivering. What I believe the remake did well was to cut a lot of time, because while it is true that a lot of that time here is going to…
I found this really enjoyable, good natured and quite heart warming.
However, two things - I do feel he was being unfair to his wife.
Second point and the major one -
I cannot reconcile that Blackpool in the 90s was still the centre of the Ballroom dancing world. I do understand the Tower Ballroom is world famous for this (I've been there), but Blackpool is not quiet. For the last few years it is budget Vegas on the English coast, and at time of writing, the crime rate is 150% of the national UK average. Sorry to any followers of mine/readers of this, stating that about Blackpool if you live there or are fond of it, I was born…
A perfect example of how far the charm and heart of a film can take it in the eyes of the viewer. Shall We Dance? is the warmest of hugs; a celebration of life and self-love. Living a life that is monotonous and detached and impulsively finding it rejuvenated by a jolt of lightning in the form of ballroom dance. All those simultaneously busy yet lonely train rides back from the office; the feeling that something is lacking from life; the passive acceptance of earning money for the sake of mortgage. This severe lack of fun in life finds its knight in shining armour in the form of dancing. His own reason for choosing to dance is not the sincerest at first, but he discovers a newfound passion in it soon after. Heartwarming. Life-affirming. Midlife crisis has never looked this enviable.
Dear Japanese Cinema,
Every genre you attempt there is a certain freshness to it.In this case even though the concept is not associated with your culture yet again you made me smile. Seeing Sugiyama's personal life its something i want to happen to me; its a family I wish to possess :-) Wonderful performances,well choreographed dancing moves,its a winner all the way.
P.S - Please avoid the Hollywood remake at all costs!
Middle age crisis is often shown through a negative lens either through mundane life or regrettable actions. But here is a movie that tries to put a positive spin through dancing.
Shohei has worked very hard for success and has everything the society expects- a loving wife and kid, a steady job, a new house but he isn't happy. While gazing at the city from his usual route to home from work, he falls for a beautiful woman and signs up for dancing classes after learning that she runs a dance school. This sounds like a dirty old man looking for a cheap hook-up but it's not. What follows is a beautiful story of someone finding the guts to get…
Shall We Simp?
Middle aged family dude sees hot chick on his way home each night and discovers she's a dance instructor, so naturally, he decides to take up dance classes in hopes of scoring some poontang.
Begins as a basic simp story about a man exploring his release from the daily mundane, then gradually steps into the rediscovery of joy; finding something to look forward to each week and remembering how to really smile again.
I could have done with more of Naoto's weirdo wig wearing office high jinks, as well as Akira's not-so-subtle detective story. Was even expecting a tad more from the dude's wife and daughter, who completely vanish during the 2nd act. Interesting to see the…
Probably deserves a lower score--I find the genre about middle-aged men existentially upset about their good jobs and caring families not being enough for them to be ethically irresponsible, but the casting and editing do a lot here to paper over my disdain (I imagine the American remake is miserable with Richard Gere's smug face).
But Yakusho's handsome, confused everymanness, Kusakari's sad droopy eyes, Kusamara's incredible gentle and accepting expressions, combine to create something far more tender and less egocentric than what that plot description typically entails. The editing and its dedication to a slow, often removed look at this story give just enough emotional distance from the characters to turn this into a surprisingly pleasant story about not getting what you want and instead getting what you need.
(7/15)
Watch This List Unplugged Presents
Hidden Gems
Episode 11: AJ
Happy Thursday, kids! AJ is on the pod this week for the first time ever (!!!) sharing his hidden gem selections that truly warm the heart. An absolute delight to experience Shall We Dance? for the first time as well as another Japanese treasure from 1996. AJ never runs out of fantastic recs you’ve never heard of & championing underseen films.
Enjoy.
Shall we dance? Shall we dance? Shall we dance? Stepping into a blackpool. I will enchant thine ear. Buying a house for your family, but something is missing. Dancing is a social stigma here, but it's also the entryway to enjoy yourself even more, as it's self-expression. Lovely. A mastery of nuanced filmmaking, never resorting itself to traditional western romance shown in the west, but very much embedded in it's own culture. One of the finest entries to the Koji Yakusho making himself and others better cinematic universe. A passion for dancing. Falling in love with it. Everyone gets their satisfying arcs.
This is the Japanese equivalent of a Julie Andrews movie, bizarre but classy.
