Shall We Dance?

Directed by Masayuki Suo
Film Movement Classics
1996
136 Minutes
Japan
Japanese
Romance, Comedy, Drama, Asian, Classics
PG
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A successful but unhappy Japanese accountant finds the missing passion in his life when he begins to secretly take ballroom dance lessons. A tremendous box-office smash when first released by Miramax in North America, the original SHALL WE DANCE? is presented in a new and uncut 4K restoration.

Director & Cast

  • Director: Masayuki Suo
  • Starring: Koji Yakusho
  • Starring: Tamiyo Kusakari
  • Starring: Naoto Takenaka

Where to Watch

Trailer

Photos

Reviews

  • "[O]ne of the more completely entertaining movies I’ve seen in a while–a well-crafted character study that, like a Hollywood movie with a skillful script, manipulates us but makes us like it."
    Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
  • "Like the breathtaking number from the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical The King and I, from which the film takes both its title and inspiration, Shall We Dance? will sweep you off your feet."
    Steve Davis, Austin Chronicle
  • "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
  • "[A]n amazingly moving performance by Koji Yakusho."
    Sarah Kerr, Slate Magazine
  • "Shall We Dance? combines the best elements of old-fashioned "gotta dance" romance with the courage it takes to overcome strict behavioral boundaries, both self-imposed and societal."
    Ann Hornaday, Austin American-Statesman
  • "Shall We Dance? proves to be that most impressive but illusive of accomplishments in film: a simple story told well."
    Sheila Simmons, Cleveland Plain Dealer
  • "You'll want to waltz on over to "Shall We Dance"."
    Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
  • "This charming comedy uses dance as a metaphor for individual expression, risk-taking and intellectual flight."
    Jami Bernard, New York Daily News
  • "Sweetly entertaining and sincere."
    Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press
  • "Disarming and delightful...."
    Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
  • "It's funny, self-deprecating and, for all of its two hours, totally absorbing."
    Chris Cobb, Ottawa Citizen
  • "Yakusho is elegant and endearingly restrained as Sugiyama. Naoto Takenaka is a comic standout as Aoki, the hilariously over-confident womanizing dancer. Reiko Kusamura is quietly charming as the elder dance instructor."
    Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews
  • "This irresistible Japanese film celebrates the spiritual uplift of boundless desire."
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality & Practice
  • "Masayuki Suo has written and directed Shall We Dance? with the grace, style and balance of a ballroom champion. Let him lead you across the floor."
    Jack Garner, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Winner
Best Foreign Language Film
National Board of Review, USA
Winner
14 Awards inc. Best Film, Director, Actor, Actress
Awards of the Japanese Academy
Winner
Best Foreign-Language Film
Critics Choice Awards
Winner
6 Awards inc. Best Film, Screenplay, Actor
Kinema Junpo Awards
Winner
Special Jury Prize
Seattle Int'l. Film Festival
Winner
Best Film
Cleveland Int'l. Film Festival
Winner
Foreign Language Film of the Year
London Critics Circle Film Awards
Winner
Best Foreign Language Film
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards