Shall We Dansu? / Shall We Dance?

Rating: PG

Movie Release Date: January 27, 1996 (Japan) / July 11, 1997 (USA)

DVD Release Date: February 1, 2005

Plot 411: A Japanese accountant takes dance lessons to meet a girl he sees from the train but discovers a whole new world.

Review: This movie was recommended back in January in a comment to my review of the 1937 Shall We Dance? I finally got a chance to watch this movie and thought it was great. The plot is completely different from the 1937 version though. There was a remake of this 1996 Japanese version in 2004 with Jennifer Lopez, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon. The movie is about a guy who basically is a walking zombie. Despite achieving all that he desired, he still feels unfulfilled. On his way home every night, he sees a beautiful but extremely sad woman looking out of her dance studio window. He wants to meet her and finally gets the courage to go to the studio. He signs up for lessons so he can be near her (like many other students do), but when she calls him on it he decides to prove her wrong by continuing to dance. As he struggles to learn, he discovers that he is really passionate about it and it revitalizes him. Between the 1996 and the 2004 versions, I prefer the 1996 Japanese take on things. I think there's more of a personal struggle when the plot is set in the Japanese culture. It is more rigid and conforming in Japan than it is in America so it's a bigger deal for a man to break social and cultural tradition there.

Watch It: For a story about self-discovery and self-fulfillment.

Skip It: If you're looking for a lot of dancing. There's some but they aren't huge numbers like in the 1937 movie.

Trailer: