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      Shall We Dance?

      PG Released Oct 15, 1996 2h 15m Romance List
      91% Tomatometer 35 Reviews 89% Audience Score 5,000+ Ratings Successful middle-aged accountant Shohei Sugiyama (Koji Yakusho) has a loving wife (Hideko Hara) and a beautiful daughter, but for some reason feels unfulfilled with his life. One night, while riding his commuter train home, Sugiyama spies a beautiful woman, Mai Kishikawa (Tamiyo Kusakari), dancing in a window. Entranced by her beauty, Sugiyama tracks the woman to her dance studio and signs up for ballroom dance lessons in hopes of reinvigorating his mundane existence. Read More Read Less
      Shall We Dance?

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      Critics Consensus

      Elegantly told by director Masayuki Suo and warmly performed, Shall We Dance? is a delightful celebration of stepping out of one's comfort zone and cutting a rug.

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      Critics Reviews

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      Owen Gleiberman Entertainment Weekly Rated: B+ Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Empire Magazine Rated: 3/5 Nov 18, 2006 Full Review Mike Clark USA Today This leisurely little import has its moments - but far too many of them. It runs two hours and seems to end five times. Rated: 2.5/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Kit Bowen Hollywood.com Rated: 2/5 Nov 20, 2008 Full Review Jim Lane Sacramento News & Review Rated: 4/5 Aug 7, 2008 Full Review Matthew Turner ViewLondon Rated: 3/5 Jun 19, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member The most beautiful movie I've seen in a long time. Simply wonderful. Sightly hilarious that from Japan the mecca to which they aspire is Blackpool, but also it is true...or was. An absolute must see. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the most charming and entertaining films I've seen in a long time... I cared a lot about the characters and they seemed real and not contrived....a classic Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member This is a Japanese film classic. One of the best films I have ever seen. Koji Yakusho and Tamiyo Kusakari are amazing. it is a charming and funny film. Forget the Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez remake. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Absolutely wonderful movie! Funny, quiet, beautiful! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Japanese language with subtitles A warm story about an unptight and dutiful 40 something middle management accountant who is finding that his dream of having his own house, pretty wife and young daughter is not turning out to be as fulfilling as he thought it was going to be. As he commutes from his dreary job once more, he glances from the train up to a dance studio opposite one of the train stops and sees a beautiful but melancholic woman staring out the dance room window. Eventually he plucks up the courage to get off the train and make his way to the studio. His initial plan was to meet and maybe even have a relationship with the mysterious dancer. But to do so, he has to enroll in the dance class. Quite quickly he realises that dancing makes him happier and more alive. But keeps it secret from his wife. It seems that in Japan, dancing with someone other than your wife is considered slightly pervy and shameful. His wife soon notices the difference in demeanour and suspects an affair - but in a way his enjoyment of dancing is worse than a physical affair and she feels left out and isolated. It's a gentle film about searching for a more fulfilled life - for some its ballroom dancing. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Absolutely charming! This Japanese film is an Allstar! Every character is needed, every character adds to the whole. Centered around a middle aged business man seeing a beautiful woman dancing as he passes in the commuter train. This chance encounter leads him on a voyage of discovery of himself, and the many characters he meets on his journey. A wonderful movie! As with all foreign language film. Three warnings: Do not watch the English dubbed version. Watch the subtitled version. And do not waste your time with the American remake of this film. (this is the one to see folks) Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Shall We Dance?

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Successful middle-aged accountant Shohei Sugiyama (Koji Yakusho) has a loving wife (Hideko Hara) and a beautiful daughter, but for some reason feels unfulfilled with his life. One night, while riding his commuter train home, Sugiyama spies a beautiful woman, Mai Kishikawa (Tamiyo Kusakari), dancing in a window. Entranced by her beauty, Sugiyama tracks the woman to her dance studio and signs up for ballroom dance lessons in hopes of reinvigorating his mundane existence.
      Director
      Masayuko Suo
      Screenwriter
      Masayuko Suo
      Distributor
      Miramax Films
      Production Co
      Miramax
      Rating
      PG
      Genre
      Romance
      Original Language
      Japanese
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Oct 15, 1996, Wide
      Release Date (Streaming)
      May 22, 2017
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $9.7M
      Runtime
      2h 15m
      Sound Mix
      Surround