Saturday, February 05, 2005

Shall We Dance (2004)

Saanko luvan? / Får jag lov? US © 2004 Miramax. D: Peter Chelsom. SC: Audrey Wells - based on the 1996 film by Masayuki Suo. DP: John de Borman. M: many styles of dance music. LOC: Winnipeg, Chicago.
    Starring Richard Gere (John Clark), Jennifer Lopez (Paulina), Susan Sarandon (Beverly Clark), Stanley Tucci (Link). 108 min.
    Released by Buena Vista Finland, Finnish / Swedish subtitles by Tarja Dibaja / Janne Staffans.
    Viewed in Tennispalatsi 11, Helsinki, 4 Feb 2005.

The 1996 Masayuki Suo film Shall We Dansu? was a wonderful celebration of dance and an interesting study of Japanese everyday life. The story of the middle-age salaryman who finds new vitality in dance was humoristic and sounded authentic. I remember thinking that it should be remade in Finland by Markku Pölönen. Now there is this American adaptation which takes the same story outlines and fills them with American detail. This is more a study on characters and relationships, and there is actually little great dancing in the film. Astaire and Charisse in The Band Wagon are glimpsed through a window on monitors. Still this perhaps calculatedly audience-pleasing film makes it point on the joy of dance, the actors are good, and the characters likeable. A good date movie. ***

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