February 11, 2001

SHALL WE DANCE? (SHALL WE DANSU?) Japan, 1996. Color. Subtitles. Rated PG. 118 Minutes. Directed by Masayuki Suo. Starring Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka.

Leonard Maltin says, Shall We Dance? is a "Beautifully realized film of middle-aged businessman (Koji Yakusho), secretly yearning to break out of the rigid conformity of his daily life, who encounters the world of ballroom dance. Deliberately paced and laced with humor, with a game cast. Ballerina turned actress Tamiyo Kusakari matches Yakusho's fine performance." (Maltin gives the film 3½ stars.) An opening title for this superb romantic comedy notes: "In Japan, ballroom dancing is regarded with much suspicion." But as New York Times critic Janet Maslin acidly comments: "Japan may not recognize ballroom dancing, but if Masayuki Suo's film is any evidence, it knows about midlife crises set to music."