Shall We Dance
"Shall We Dance" is director Masayuki Suo's largest break into NorthAmerican cinema. Previously, his works include a "pink" (X-rated) moviecalled "Daughter in Law", a TV drama, a documentary called "A TaxingWoman", and a major picture called "Manic Zen", followed by a moviedepicting a college Sumo wrestler. Though released in English, "ManicZen" was only seen in movie festivals and not released in the UnitedStates. When asked about Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu's influence on"Shall We Dance", Suo replies, " I didn't think very much about Ozu,therefore I don't know how I was influenced..." However, he credits Ozu asa great influence on his first movie, "Daughter-in-Law" (Kaufman). Miramax distributed "Shall We Dance" in America, after executives sawthe film at the American Film Market. "Shall We Dance" was showcased atSundance, and won an impressive Japanese Academy Awards (Dickson). The filmwas cut by 18 minutes for the American market (Kaufman). "Shall We Dance" explores the life of Shohei Sugiyama, a Japanesebusinessman trapped in a bland and frustrating life. He spends most of hisdays waking up early, going to work, and collapsing in bed at the end of
On the heels of the success of "Shall We Dance", directorSuo is optimistic about American distribution of Japanese films. It is the contextual repression of sexuality in Japanesesociety that charges these scenes even more. It is this mixture of the comic and theprofound that ultimately make "Shall We Dance" a great movie. " The characters in "Shall We Dance" are rich, effective, and showgreat development as the movie progresses. After years of thislife, he has finally managed to scrape together enough for a down paymenton a house, which only means that his mortgage payments have him trappedfinancially. However, it also has the effect of being somewhat heavy-handedand a bit obvious. Suo's first shot of a lovely woman alone at the window of a dancestudio is typical of his adeptness at manipulating images into emotionalthemes. In conclusion, Masayuki Suo's "Shall We Dance" is a touching andendearing movie about the triumph of the human spirit over repression anddespair. Throughout the movie, Suo's cinematography is crisp and evocative. This simple shot creates an atmosphere of mystery, and establishesthe woman as a subject of longing. In a larger sense, "Shall We Dance" alsoshows the transformation of Sugiyama's repressed spirit into a freer,happier form because of the dance. Ultimately, however, Sugiyamareaches the top of the staircase, and meets the reality of the woman in thewindow. Hopefully, the success of "Shall We Dance" signals a growingwillingness for American film distributors to look at directors outside theWestern world. Roger Ebert notes, "To seek out the secret of a beautiful woman in a windowis much more interesting than to discover the secret". Each character is distinct and effective.
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Acceptance Essays
