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The Dancer Upstairs
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The Dancer Upstairs (2002) More at IMDbPro »

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The Dancer Upstairs (2002) -- A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader.
The Dancer Upstairs (2002) -- A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader.

Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   3,546 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 35% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
John Malkovich
Writers:
Nicholas Shakespeare (novel)
Nicholas Shakespeare (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Dancer Upstairs on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 September 2002 (Spain) more
Genre:
Drama | Thriller | Crime more
Tagline:
An honest man caught in a world of intrigue, power and passion.
Plot:
A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
1 win & 2 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
John Malkovich making a documentary on illegal migration
 (From PasteMagazine. 21 November 2008, 7:34 AM, PST)

Guerilla Warfare Looking Good
 (From ioncinema. 30 January 2006)

User Comments:
Round Up the Unusual Suspects! more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Javier Bardem ... Agustín Rejas

Juan Diego Botto ... Sucre
Laura Morante ... Yolanda

Elvira Mínguez ... Llosa
Alexandra Lencastre ... Sylvina Rejas
Oliver Cotton ... Merino
Luís Miguel Cintra ... Calderón
Javier Manrique ... Clorindo
Abel Folk ... Ezequiel / Durán
Marie-Anne Berganza ... Laura
Lucas Rodríguez ... Gómez
Xabier Elorriaga ... Pascual
Natalia Dicenta ... Marina

Wolframio Sinué ... Santiago
Ramiro Jiménez ... Sergeant Pisac
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Pasos de baile (Spain)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for strong violence, and for language.
Runtime:
132 min
Country:
Spain | USA
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital
Filming Locations:
Espinho, Aveiro, Portugal more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In the beginning of the film, one of the revolutionaries tells a checkpoint security guard that his dead dog's name is Tupac. Tupac Amaru was the last indigenous leader of the Inca people in Peru and Tupac Amaru II was the leader of the 1780s uprising in colonial day Cusco, Peru. (The late hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur is named after the latter). more
Goofs:
Continuity: When they are searching through garbage, the female officer's mask (which is around her neck) appears on her mouth for one shot. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Revealing 'The Dancer Upstairs' (2003) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Viagens Interditas more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
10 out of 13 people found the following comment useful:-
Round Up the Unusual Suspects!, 22 June 2003
Author: noralee from Queens, NY

The film's trailer, which rain endlessly for months in advance at my local art house, and the reviews, etc., have emphasized this as a political thriller. But in fact it's really in the tradition of "Casablanca," where politics is a constant background to only part of the hero's motivation. I did expect someone to say "Round up the usual suspects!"

Awkwardly in this day and age, the Latino actors in the film's unnamed Latin American country (it was filmed in Ecuador and Madrid) all speak (accented) English, with subtitles to indicate when characters are speaking an Indian dialect, i.e. when the hero lawyer/detective is using his heritage to solve the complex case of politically-motivated murders.

But it's the complex layers that make this more interesting than Costa-Gavras' didactic "State of Siege" that is repeatedly referred to as an inspiration, both to director John Malkovich and the revolutionaries, and making this akin to HBO's "The Wire" in showing how a flawed cop can stick to his professionalism amidst deadly-serious bureaucratic and real politics.

The cop's simplistically drawn Beverly Hills matron-type wife turns out to incidentally help him uncover a clue, as he gradually comprehends the cynicism of a revolution that uses unexpected types of cells for suicide missions, with resonance for the MidEast as well, as ideologues are more diabolically dangerous than criminals.

That the dancer is actually downstairs is emblematic of the film's genre confusion.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Excellent acting/film locations but too slow... hannahp1
The Shining Path (El Sendero Luminoso) slipcat555
Song in the Movie dammyo
signaling with the garbage bag churchr-1
Portugal itīs not Spain!!!!!!!! Vivyane
not enough South American culture slipcat555
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