Shall We Dance?

Shall We Dance?

Japanese Title: Shall We Dance?
Release Year in Japan: 1996
Release Year in the U.S.: 1996 (Theaters), 2005 (DVD)

Director: Masayuki Suo
Casts: Koji Yakusho (Shohei Sugiyama), Tamiyo Kusakari (Mai Kishikawa), Naoto Takenaka (Tomio Aoki)

This movie has the U.S. box office gross record among Japanese non-anime movies - more than $9 mil. in 1996 - and received numerous awards outside of Japan. Its Hollywood re-made version with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez was released in 2005. The plot is almost exactly the same between those two versions, but the Japanese version is made to make you cry more in the conclusion part, and to me, the story sounds more "natural" given the shy nature of Japanese men. And the acting of Koji Yakusho, as always, is superb. Contrasting Naoto Takenaka (crazy Aoki) is amazing. The movie not only was a big hit, but also started the "ballroom dancing boom" in Japan, and in consequence, made many people's life happier.

Please note that U.S. version is shortened by 13 minutes from the original Japanese version, due to the recommendation of Miramax at the time of box office release.

Winner: Japan Academy Awards Best Picture (1997)