Japanese - Shall We Dance

At long last, 'Shall We Dance?' is available in the UK. I LOVE this film for many reasons. First, you can see what the ordinary Japanese semi-middle class family life is like. No guns or swords, no blood, no samurai or soldiers - this is a very cultural film about modern Japan. Secondly, this movie shows how much the Japanese admire the British culture (in this film's case, ball room dancing and Blackpool!). If you are, or going to start, learning Japanese, listen to how Tamako-sensei (the elderly female dance teacher) speaks. As well as speaks gently, she show the gentle heart of the Japanese lady. Koji Yakusho has proved he is one of the most brilliant actors in Japan, and my favourite one is Naoto Takenaka, who plays a funny funny bloke who specialises Latin dance to fill the 'gap' in his ordinary life and hopefully find a nice girl too. FYI: I have already seen the Hollywood version of this film, but it isn't the same thing at all. It's supposed to be a re-make of this brilliant film, but, in my view, it's a little bit too 'Americanised' and feels like almost a different film. Maybe you can make your own judgement by watching this Japanese original first? Enjoy it!

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