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IMDbPro

The Dancer Upstairs

  • 20022002
  • RR
  • 2h 12m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
6.6K
YOUR RATING
Javier Bardem and Laura Morante in The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
Pre, "Coming Soon"
Play trailer0:34
2 Videos
15 Photos
  • Crime
  • Drama
  • Thriller
A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader.A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader.A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader.
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
6.6K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • John Malkovich
  • Writer
    • Nicholas Shakespeare(novel)
  • Stars
    • Javier Bardem
    • Laura Morante
    • Juan Diego Botto
Top credits
  • Director
    • John Malkovich
  • Writer
    • Nicholas Shakespeare(novel)
  • Stars
    • Javier Bardem
    • Laura Morante
    • Juan Diego Botto
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 77User reviews
    • 88Critic reviews
    • 64Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 3 nominations

    Videos2

    The Dancer Upstairs
    Trailer 0:34
    The Dancer Upstairs
    The Dancer Upstairs
    Trailer 2:14
    The Dancer Upstairs

    Photos15

    Javier Bardem in The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
    John Malkovich and Javier Bardem in The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
    Javier Bardem and Laura Morante in The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
    Javier Bardem and Laura Morante in The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
    Javier Bardem and Juan Diego Botto in The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
    Javier Bardem and Laura Morante in The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
    John Malkovich in The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
    John Malkovich and Javier Bardem at an event for The Dancer Upstairs (2002)
    John Malkovich at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival makes his directorial debut with the film "The Dancer Upstairs."
    John Malkovich at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival makes his directorial debut with the film "The Dancer Upstairs."
    John Malkovich at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival makes his directorial debut with the film "The Dancer Upstairs."
    John Malkovich at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival makes his directorial debut with the film "The Dancer Upstairs."

    Top cast

    Edit
    Javier Bardem
    Javier Bardem
    • Agustín Rejasas Agustín Rejas
    Laura Morante
    Laura Morante
    • Yolandaas Yolanda
    Juan Diego Botto
    Juan Diego Botto
    • Sucreas Sucre
    Elvira Mínguez
    Elvira Mínguez
    • Llosaas Llosa
    Alexandra Lencastre
    Alexandra Lencastre
    • Sylvina Rejasas Sylvina Rejas
    Oliver Cotton
    Oliver Cotton
    • Merinoas Merino
    Luís Miguel Cintra
    Luís Miguel Cintra
    • Calderónas Calderón
    Javier Manrique
    Javier Manrique
    • Clorindoas Clorindo
    Abel Folk
    Abel Folk
    • Ezequielas Ezequiel…
    Marie-Anne Berganza
    • Lauraas Laura
    Lucas Rodríguez
    • Gómezas Gómez
    Xabier Elorriaga
    Xabier Elorriaga
    • Pascualas Pascual
    Natalia Dicenta
    Natalia Dicenta
    • Marinaas Marina
    Wolframio Sinué
    Wolframio Sinué
    • Santiagoas Santiago
    Ramiro Jiménez
    • Sergeant Pisacas Sergeant Pisac
    Montserrat Astudillo
    • Woman in Pick-up - Edith Pusangaas Woman in Pick-up - Edith Pusanga
    Galo Urbina
    • Indian 1 in Pick-upas Indian 1 in Pick-up
    Jairon Flores
    • Indian 2 in Pick-upas Indian 2 in Pick-up
    • Director
      • John Malkovich
    • Writer
      • Nicholas Shakespeare(novel) (screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The story is inspired by the Maoist insurgency in Peru known as the Shining Path. Its leader Abimael Guzmán, who was known by the nom de guerre President Gonzalo, was captured in an apartment above a ballet studio in the capital city of Lima in 1992. The ballet teacher Yolanda was based on Maritza Garrido Lecca, the woman in whose apartment Guzmán was found. Bardem's character was inspired by Benedicto Jimenez and Gen. Antonio Ketin Vidal, the leading figures responsible for Guzmán's capture.
    • Goofs
      When Sucre & Llosa arrest the young woman in orange, she has been handcuffed to the ceiling of the car. But then en route, soldiers simply drag her out of the backseat. No handcuff keys. No bolt cutters.
    • Quotes

      Agustín Rejas: I'd like to have a list of staff with access to the President's chambers.

      Calderón: Luckily there are only two of them. The first is named 'Fuck', the second is named 'Off'.

    • Crazy credits
      The producers would like to thank ... the residents of Narcisos Street ...
    • Connections
      Featured in Revealing 'the Dancer Upstairs' (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      Viagens Interditas
      (1995)

      Written by Pedro Malgheas (as Pedro Ayres) and Rodrigo Leão

      Performed by Madredeus

      Licensed by Dpte. de Productos Especiales de

      (p) EMI Odean, S.A., Madrid, Spain, 2001 exclusive rights holder

    User reviews77

    Review
    Top review
    Plod got there in the end - no fancy steps required
    I suppose this could be described as an off-Hollywood detective story with political overtones. It is based on a book by Nicholas Shakespeare (a part-time Australian) who has in turn loosely based his story on the rise and fall of the `Shining Path' or Sendero Luminoso insurgency in Peru (1980-1995). As rendered on film (Shakespeare also wrote the screenplay), we have an immensely likable policemen, Rejas, played to perfection by Javier Bardem, literally searching through the rubbish to find the shadowy Ezequiel, leader of a movement with a fine record of atrocities, but no program or real philosophy.

    Nicholas, alas, is no Shakespeare, and the film becomes very slow in parts, though there are plenty of dramatic moments and some crisp editing. Bardem gets good support from some of the other actors such as Juan Diego Botto who plays his sidekick Sucre and Laura Morante as Yolanda the enigmatic ballet teacher he becomes involved with. Most of the cast are Spanish but the prodution was filmed in English, which has created an intermittent audibility problem. The film is also beautifully shot, the locations in Ecuador and Oporto, Portugal, being used to great advantage.

    While the film succeeds quite well as a detective story it telegraphs too many punches to work as a thriller. However it's the politics that really let it down. Clearly, we have a not very nice, if elected, government under attack, and it's almost inevitable that the even more not very nice Army is going to step in. Against who? People who load up dogs with dynamite and send them in to crowded marketplaces. People who send in 10 year olds into village cafes to blow up themselves along with some local notables. The explanation for this comes only in one-liners such as `I am already dead, I live only for the revolution.' When Ezequiel, the former philosophy lecturer is finally captured, all he can say is `You cannot capture this ` (tapping his forehead). `We are already part of history.' Surely there is a better explanation for `Shining Path' than this. My own theory is that it is a rather nasty combination of French post-modern philosophy (Derrida, Foucault etc) mixed up with Marxism and Maoism and served up to people with not much to lose. If you are already dead you might as well die for the revolution. It's either that or slave for the whites.

    Actually, `Shining Path' had some competition in the shape of Tupac Amaru, who captured the Japanese Embassy in Lima and held 70 or so people hostage for over 4 months in 1996-97, until being overwhelmed by Peruvian commandos who tunnelled in beneath them. None of the guerrillas survived. By the time I visited Lima and the Cuzco area in late 2000 all was quiet on the revolutionary front, though President Fujimori, hero of the embassy siege, despite having won a recent election was on his way out. I haven't read it yet, but I'm told Gustavo Gorriti's `The Shining Path: A History of the Millenarian War in Peru' is a good history of the era.

    Maybe it's asking too much for political explanations, though the director clearly wants the film to be compared with Costa-Gravas' excellent `State of Siege' (which is shown briefly at one point and provides a vital clue as to Ezequiel's location). As to the direction, Malkovich seems a little uncertain whether he is making a thriller or something more reflective but he has a good sense of dramatic timing and a good visual sense. Perhaps more attention to the editing would have sharpened up the mood.
    helpful•44
    6
    • Philby-3
    • Jul 5, 2003

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 23, 2003 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Spain
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Quechua
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Yukarıdaki Dansçı
    • Filming locations
      • Lisbon, Portugal
    • Production companies
      • Fox Searchlight Pictures
      • Lolafilms
      • Mr. Mudd
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $2,377,348
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $106,142
      • May 4, 2003
    • Gross worldwide
      • $5,227,348
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 12 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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