Synopsis
An honest man caught in a world of intrigue, power and passion.
A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader.
2002 Directed by John Malkovich
A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader.
Sendero de sangre, Táncos a házban, O horeftis tou epano orofou, Yukaridaki Dansçi, La danse de l'oubli, Tancerz, Стъпките на танца, Tanečník seshora, Der Obrist und die Tänzerin, Pasos de baile, Dancer Upstairs, הרקדן בקומה העליונה, Danza di sangue, ზევით მოცეკვავე, 댄서 업스테어즈, Šokanti viršuje, Guerrilha Sem Face, Em Clandestinidade, Танцующая наверху, Üst Kattaki Dansçı, 楼上的舞者
Directed by John Malkovich (Yes, that one) and starring Javier Bardem as the leader of a police taskforce that are hunting down a terrorist that keeps bombing and killing government leaders.
This should be a lot better than it is.
I think it all comes down to the script because the acting was solid especially from Bardem and the direction was surprisingly subtle with lots of long lingering takes that I kind of enjoyed but the story was just bizarrely paced with the first hour and a half being a glacial slog of the police not having any real leads and kind of going "I dunno" when asked what was going on by the higher ups before a really quick…
Bardem plays a police officer in the 80s who has been given the task to investigate Ezequiel, a mysterious terrorist, who is attempting a silent revolution.
The concept is interesting with its seemingly random and violent attacks, but poses the same problem for the audience as for Bardem - it's hard to follow or to make sense of.
The Dancer Upstairs is neither a thriller nor a drama. Malkovich, directing for the first and only time, drifts between the attacks, the reactions of a vulnerable government and the character of Bardem and never quite manages to keep me invested in either of them.
It never felt like a bad directing job though, more like a distinct Malkovich style. And in times where many movies are made by template The Dancer Upstairs is a nice bit of diversity, carried by a phenomenal Javier Bardem.
Hard to understand why John Malkovich has only directed this one feature, given how assured it is. Helped in no small part by Bardem, of course. The plot I guess is fairly predictable and, when you look at more flamboyant/stylish films like Sicario, Traffic or even the Mariachi Trilogy this isn't going to be the one that stands out. But it's a fairly hidden gem which deserved a bigger audience.
John Malkovich directs this character driven political thriller that doesn't have a lot of thrills, but a subdued performance by Javier Bardem.
The movie sure does take its time getting to where it's going. It's not boring, but you do wonder what the point of some of the slower scenes are.
It's worth the 2 plus hours of Bardem's moustache as the film does deliver solid twists, especially the very famous Latin American actor that plays said moustache.
If you're in the mood to sit and sit through a slow moving drama thriller filled with dead dogs, go upstairs and dance.
Has the feel of a Graham Greene novel. Whilst Malkovich directs with patient observation, unafraid to show the brutal truths of the nature of revolution and done without an ounce of romanticism on either side. Bardem's dedicated cop on the trail of the revolutionary leader is straight out of noir tropes 101 and is the best performance i've seen from him outside of No Country, which is apt I feel considering this is the kind of story that the Coen Brothers would also tell with great skill. My one major problem is that a significant amount of time passes but you never really get the impression of it beyond some sporadic titles and the occasional expositionary dialogue along the lines of "it's been three weeks already."
John Malkovich's only outing as a director is an underseen and underappreciated work. An adaptation of a novel which hits so many notes that admittedly I am a sucker for; unknown foreign setting, underlying political upheaval, police procedurals, a complicated central character and naturalistic meditative pacing.
Bardem is on top of his game proving he is best at his most understated, Rejas is a fascinating character whose motivations are hard to unravel at first but who always has our sympathy.
Perhaps too languid for some as seeing the reviews on here (and a mixed critical response at the time) a lot of people struggle to get on board with this but I was captivated throughout my second viewing just as much as my first about a decade ago. There's such an impressive atmosphere in this highly intelligent and gripping work. Those who have the sensibility and the patience shall reap the rewards of this fascinating film.
El único motivo porque la vi fue por Javier Bardem… Y si no la veía tampoco me perdía de mucho. Abarca mucho y aprieta poco, y en el supuesto sentimiento se siente desabrida. Seguimos…
Even if you can suspend your disbelief enough to believe this location mashup of Espinho, Porto and Quito is the same Peruvian town, all you get from Malkovich directorial debut is a sloppily edited, oddly paced, shallow police procedural that goes on for way too long.
You also get so many dead dogs that you'd believe Wes Anderson was involved in this movie.
Maybe watch it if you really hate dogs.
Strong cast and beautifully shot, but it somehow can't do enough to distinguish itself from the average police procedural.
Absolute chaos.
It's been a while since I don't watch a movie so uninspiring yet so pretentious. Malkovich's directorial debut is full of good intentions but fails in almost everything.
The thriller makes absolute no sense. Lacks all the caveats that make the original story interesting and is deeply decontextualized to the point I feel bad for those who watched it without knowing anything about Sendero Luminoso or Peru.
The editing is erratic, underdone and feels like is trying to tackle 20 different styles. The cinematography is effective, although unexplainably exuberant considering the kind of story they're telling here. I can't see the point of shooting the film between Oporto (which is in the shore) and Quito (which is an…
Javier Bardem plays an honest detective in an unnamed Latin America country investigating a series of terrorist acts that seem orchestrated by a single man, a revolutionary called Ezequiel. What's interesting is that John Malkovich directs with an introspective, contemplative, distanced touch. Without losing sight of the detective’s eroding morality, he seems most interested in watching a nation collapse under corruption and violence.