Shall We Dance? (1996)
"Shall we dansu?" (original title)

A successful but unhappy Japanese accountant finds the missing passion in his life when he begins to secretly take ballroom dance lessons.

Director:

Masayuki Suo

Writer:

Masayuki Suo

Stars:

Kôji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka

56 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kôji Yakusho	...	Shohei Sugiyama
Tamiyo Kusakari	...	Mai Kishikawa
Naoto Takenaka	...	Tomio Aoki
Eri Watanabe	...	Toyoko Takahashi (as Eriko Watanabe)
Yu Tokui	...	Tokichi Hattori
Hiromasa Taguchi	...	Masahiro Tanaka
Reiko Kusamura	...	Tamako Tamura
Hideko Hara	...	Masako Sugiyama
Hiroshi Miyasaka	...	Macho
Kunihiko Ida	...	Teiji Kaneko
Amie Toujou	...	Hisako Honda
Ayano Nakamura	...	Chikage Sugiyama
Katsunari Mineno	...	Keiri-kachô
Tomiko Ishii	...	Haruko Haraguchi
Maki Kawamura	...	Eiko Miyoshi

Storyline

Shohei Sugiyama has attained all that he has wanted in life. But he is still depressed and unhappy. One day, he gathers up the courage to sign up for dancing lessons. He hopes they will rid his depression and help him get his life back together.

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Plot Keywords:

dance | train | man with glasses | dance contest | dance hall | 

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Taglines:

He's an overworked accountant. She's an accomplished dancer. Passion is about to find two unlikely partners.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

11 July 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shall We Dance?

Filming Locations:

Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£28,684 (UK) (8 May 1998)

Gross:

£28,684 (UK) (8 May 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Altamira Pictures Inc., Daiei Studios, Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min 119 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title is written in English as "Shall We Dansu" since in its original Japanese release, the first two words actual appear in English with only the last word appearing in katakana (one of three Japanese writing systems). The Japanese word for "dance" is pronounced "dansu".

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Quotes

Tamako Tamura: Dance is more than the steps. Feel the music and dance for sheer joy.

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Connections

Referenced in Dennis Pennis R.I.P. (1997)

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Soundtracks

"Save the Last Dance for Me"
Written by Mort Shuman and Doc Pomus
Performed by The Drifters

User Reviews

Heartwarming film

This film is about a man who has been too caught up with the accepted convention of success, trying to be ever upwardly mobile, working hard so that he could be proud of owning his own home. He assumes this is all there is to life until he accidentally takes up dancing, all because he wanted to get a closer look of a beautiful girl that he sees by the dance studio everyday while riding the subway on his way home.

His was infatuated with her at first, going to the dance class just to idolize her, but he eventually lets himself go and gets himself into the dancing. It eventually becomes apparent to him that there is more to life than working yourself to death. There is a set of oddball characters also learning in the studio, giving the film a lot of laughs and some sense of bonding between the dejected.

There is also revelations of various characters, including the girl he initially admired, giving some depth to them by showing their blemished past and their struggle to overcome it.

The dancing was also engaging, with the big competition at the end, but it is not the usual story where our underdog come out at the top by winning it. Instead, there are downfalls, revelations and redemption.

All these makes it a moving and fun film to watch.