The Dancer Upstairs (2003)

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details
Rating: R
Release Date: May 2, 2003
Running Time: 128 mins.
Additional Notes: dialogue English and Quechua
Country Of Origin: United States
Country Of Origin: Spain
synopsis
As a Latin American nation nears collapse under a highly organized terrorist movement, idealistic policeman Agustin Rejas faces the greatest challenge of his career: to catch the mysterious guerilla leader Ezequiel. The brains behind the bloody revolution that threatens to bring the government and entire country down, Ezequiel is as elusive as Rejas' superiors are corrupt--an irony not lost on Rejas, who left a career as a lawyer to try to find "a more honorable way of practicing the law." The military's response to the brutal tactics of Ezequiel's followers is equally ferocious, creating an atmosphere of mass panic. In the midst of the chaos, Rejas finds respite in Yolanda, his daughter's soulfully beautiful ballet teacher. But she, who appears to be a shelter from the storm, may in actuality be the storm's eye. As Rejas draws nearer to the man who considers himself to be the "Fourth Flame of Communism," he and the dancer he loves will be forced to choose between love, country and self.
cast + crew
Director
Agustin Rejas
Yolanda
General Merino
Clorindo
Ezequiel/Duran
Source Material
Producer
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
Associate Producer
Executive Producer
reviews
Source
rating May 2, 2003
The poster makes it look like a sex film -- you have to sell tickets -- but this slow-building thriller, in which John Malkovich makes an elegantly stylized debut as a director, is concerned with a man's conscience. The man, played with implosive force by Javier Bardem, is a lawyer turned cop who tracks an anarchist through Latin America and finds solace, he thinks, in the arms of his daughter's ballet teacher (Laura Morante). From this tangled web, Malkovich weaves something delicate and… Continued
Source

An intense, intelligent drama from first-time film director John Malkovich, The Dancer Upstairs explores terrorism, love and hard-line politics in Latin America.

Story

A military junta rules an unnamed country in Latin America, and a communist guru who calls himself Ezequiel (Abel Folk) leads an ever escalating anti-government terrorist movement whose early acts of political revolution are characterized by prominently displayed dead dogs. Enter idealistic, yet complexly jaded, former lawyer… Continued