I saw the movie, "Shall we Dance" (the original Japanese version) over four years ago when I first started taking Ballroom Dancing lessons.
I couldn't rent it then because it was nowhere to be found in any of the video stores. So, I purchased a copy on ebay from someplace that offered it on DVD and cheap. I think it came from Korea or Singapore.
Anyway, without a doubt this is one of my favorite Ballroom Dance movies of all time. I'm a sucker for foreign films anyway and to get a peek into the Japanese culture was entertaining and fascinating.
The story is about a Japanese businessman (I think he's an accountant) who is very successful. He has all the trappings in his culture... a wife, a daughter, a good job, and a nice house. He should be happy but he's not. On the train ride from work every night he watches out the train window at life passing him by.
One night at one of the stops he notices a window in which a strikingly beautiful young girl is standing looking as forlorn as he is. And from that day forward he looks for her. Just the sight of her gives him a small bit of excitement giving his lonely days some meaning.
He eventually gets the courage to find out what's going on behind that window and learns it's a Ballroom Dancing studio. Finally he secretly joins the classes to be closer to this youthful, sad beauty only to find over time that dancing has brought new meaning to his life.
The characterizations of different dancers is wonderful. In the studio we meet several indivduals, many of whom you'll know if you dance yourself. There's the obsessed nerd who spends every waking moment practicing his dance steps (I'm guilty of this one practicing in check out lines and listening to music on the radio and wondering which dances go with the music). And, the "know it all" competition dancer who can never find a partner worthy of her talent. Finally the overweight klutz who is dancing because his doctor said he needed to start exercising.
I especially enjoyed how the characters portrayed the stigma of dancing in Japan. Seen as something which is to be ridiculed and scorned the characters go at great length to hide the fact that they have another life on the dance floor.
This movie explores everything I love and remember about first learning to dance. The shyness of asking others to dance with me as a rank beginner. The joy of just moving to the music. The pride at becoming better at something and then excelling through hard work and long hours of practice.
It's got it all and I would recommend to highly to anyone who is a dancer or who want's to be a dancer. With the advent of online video stores like Netflix and Blockbuster you'll have no trouble tracking down this gem of a feel-good story. Go rent it today. You won't be sorry.
