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Fancy Dance film image; three people grabbing each other in a physical fight

Shall we meditate? Masayuki Suô’s second film as director (his first was a porno remake of Tokyo Story, sadly not in this series), Fancy Dance is a wild comedy about a punk rock star (Masahiro Motoki, Departures) who agrees to become a Buddhist monk for a year in order to inherit his family’s lucrative temple. With his head fully shaved he leaves behind his girlfriend and other worldly desires for an ascetic lifestyle in the countryside. However, temple life is not quite as spiritual as he was led to believe…

The mix of belly laughs, slapstick, sex jokes and satire pushes towards a predictably serene, spiritual conclusion.

Trevor Johnston, Time Out

Director

Masayuki Suô

Cast

Masahiro Motoki, Honami Suzuki, Ken Ohsawa, Hikomaro, Hiromasa Taguchi, Kazuo Chikada

Credits
Country of Origin

Japan

Year

1989

Language

In Japanese with English subtitles

19+
101 min

Book Tickets

Saturday June 14

5:30 pm
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
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Tuesday June 17

6:00 pm
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre
Book Now

Credits

Screenwriter

Masayuki Suô

Cinematography

Yûichi Nagata

Editor

Jun’ichi Kikuchi

Original Music

Yoshikazu Suo

Also in This Series

Shall We Dance?

Dir. Masayuki Suô
137 min

Masayuki Suô's delightful and charming 1996 film was a box office smash and won 14 Japanese Academy Awards including Best Film. It's the story of a married salaryman who falls in love with... dance.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Fancy Dance

Dir. Masayuki Suô
101 min

Shall we meditate? Masayuki Suô's second film is a comedy about a punk rock star (Masahiro Motoki) who agrees to become a Buddhist monk for a year in order to inherit his family's lucrative temple.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Chen Baker Play J-Pop

Dir. Masayuki Suô
103 min

Jeffery's Chen Baker band is back (and bigger than ever) to present a set of city pop and jazzy J-pop by the likes of Miki Matsubara, Taeko Ohnuki, Lamp, before the screening of Masayuki Suô's hilarious underdog comedy Sumo Do, Sumo Don't (1992).

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Sumo Do, Sumo Don't

Dir. Masayuki Suô
103 min

This hilarious sports underdog story from the director of Shall We Dance won 5 Japan Academy Awards including Best Film, and was the inspiration for the recent Disney+ spin off series.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre