Shall We Dance? (1995)
- Starring:
- Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, (more)
- Director(s):
- Masayuki Suo
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG
Synopsis of Shall We Dance?
Reminiscent of the Australian hit Strictly Ballroom (1992), this romantic comedy from Japan was a hit in its country of origin, despite (or perhaps because of) its tacit criticisms of the restrictive aspects of Japanese culture. Shohei Sugiyama (Koji Yakusho) is a typically strait-laced Japanese businessmen who, passing by in his commuter train one day, glimpses a beautiful young woman, Mai (real-life ballerina Tamiyo Kusakari) through the window of a dance school. Obsessed with her, Shohei enrolls in the school and meets instructor Mai, who at first mistakes Shohei for a philanderer. To her surprise, however, Shohei is a naturally gifted dancer interested in an artistic partnership only, and Mai begins training with him for a competition. Meanwhile, Shohei becomes familiar with his eccentric fellow students, including one person that Shohei already knows, a co-worker (Akira Emoto) who blooms in the dance sessions as a bewigged master of rumba. As dancing is frowned upon in Japan as a frivolous enterprise for a respectable businessman, Shohei keeps his sideline hobby secret, leading his wife to believe that he's being unfaithful and to hire a private investigator to follow him. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
Complete Cast of Shall We Dance?
- Koji Yakusho - Shohei Sugiyama
- Naoto Takenaka - Tomio Aoki
- Hideko Hara - Masako Sugiyama
- Masahiro Motoki - Hiromasa Kimoto
- Hiromasa Taguchi - Masahiro Tanaka
- Reiko Kusamura - Tamako Tamura
- Tamiyo Kusakari - Mai Kishikawa
- Eriko Watanabe - Toyoko Takahashi
- Akira Emoto - Toru Miwa
- Misa Shimizu - Natsuko
- Yu Tokui - Tokichi Hattori
- Shuichiro Moriyama - Ryo Kishikawa
- Director(s):
- Masayuki Suo
- Writer(s):
- Masayuki Suo
- Producer(s):
- Shoji Masui, Yuji Ogata, Tetsuya Ikeda
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- PG(Suitable for Children)
- 1997 - Broadcast Film Critics Association - Best Foreign Film
- 1997 - Chicago Film Critics Association - Best Foreign Film
- 1997 - National Board of Review - Best Foreign Film
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