Shall We Dance? MPAA Rating: PG Entertainment: +2 Content: +3

Shohei Sugiyama (Koji Yakusho) is an ordinary 42-year-old businessman, living a comfortable suburban life with his faithful wife and adorable daughter. Everything seems to be perfect, but Sugiyama feels something is missing. Every night, on the train home from work, he sees a beautiful woman gazing out from a window of a building. When he finally builds up the nerve to investigate, he learns that she runs a ballroom dancing school. Sugiyama signs up for lessons, hoping to get some personal attention from Mai (Tamiyo Kusakari), the beautiful woman. What starts out as a desire for a woman turns into a passion for dancing and a revival of the life Sugiyama already has. He makes some new friends along the way, and in the end, establishes a renewed love for his wife. SHALL WE DANCE? won 13 Japanese Academy Awards and will thoroughly please American audiences as well. Dont be turned away by the English subtitles. The movie is so good, youll forget your reading them.

One moderately crude word and one sexually suggestive joke. Thats the entirety of the offensive material in this movie. Otherwise, its completely delightful. Sugiyama is a family man who, though tempted, remains true to his wife. He prays before meals, and refuses to go out drinking like the rest of his office buddies. In the midst of a middle-age crisis, he learns to love life again, and his wife. He also learns to love dancing. So will most viewers, except those who find some of the Latin numbers a little too suggestive for their taste. Above all, this movie, by being refreshingly innocent and pure, reminds us of what Hollywood could be doing for American audiences. With quality of this caliber, discriminating viewers may start looking to Tokyo for high quality, undefiled entertainment.

Preview Reviewer: Jason Shepherd
Distributor: Miramax Films, 375 Greenwich, NY, NY, 10013