
Shohei Sugiyama (Koji Yakusho) seems to have it all — a high-paying job as an accountant, a beautiful home, a caring wife and a doting daughter he loves dearly. However, something is missing in his life. One day on the commuter train he spots a beautiful woman staring wistfully out a window and eventually decides to find her. So far, so film noir. But in this story, his search propels him into the furtive world of… ballroom dancing.
“Dance is more than just the steps,” counsels a kindly teacher. “Feel the music and dance for sheer joy.” And Shohei does just that, finding a new lease of life in tripping the light fantastic.
Masayuki Suô’s delightful and charming film was a box office smash in Japan (second only to Godzilla that year) and in the USA, where Miramax cut it by 18 minutes. It won 14 Japanese Academy Awards: Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Lighting, Best Music Score, Best Screenplay, Best Sound, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Newcomer of the Year. A US remake followed with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez.
The film is presented here in a new restoration in its full 136-minute version.
Funny and poignant, this is entertainment in it’s kindest and swishiest form.
Ian Freer, Empire magazine
The movie has a great deal of zest and charm, and Yakusho gets so exactly that crest of melancholy that is a man’s early 40s, until he decides to go for another kind of life, that the movie is infinitely touching.
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
This disarming and delightful tale prescribes rumba replacement therapy for male menopause and has a tonic effect on the audience, too.
Carrie Rickie, Philadelphia Inquirer
Media Partner
Masayuki Suô
Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, Eri Watanabe, Yû Tokui, Hiromasa Taguchi
Japan
1996
In Japanese with English subtitles
14 Japanese Academy Awards including Best Film
Book Tickets
Friday June 13
Saturday June 14
Sunday June 15
Monday June 16
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Screenwriter
Masayuki Suô
Cinematography
Naoki Kayano
Editor
Jun’ichi Kikuchi
Original Music
Yoshikazu Suo
Also in This Series
Japanese filmmaker Masayuki Suô excels in the art of comedy, putting out film after film filled with warmth and wit.
If you’ve never experienced a Suô film before, this is your chance. Explore three of Suô’s biggest and best, along with a special VIFF Live event you won’t want to miss.
Shall We Dance?
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.
Chen Baker Play J-Pop
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).