This taut political thriller set in Latin America marks John Malkovich's explosive directorial debut. Academy Award nominee Javier Bardem (Best Actor, 2000 - Before Night Falls) stars as legit policeman Agustin Rejas, who faces the greatest challenge of his career - to catch the leader of a terrorist movement threatening to collapse his government, while being stopped at every turn by his own corrupt superiors. As the fight becomes more ferocious, Rejas' search brings him ever closer to the guerrilla leader. But when, amidst the chaos, he falls in love with his daughter's ballet teacher (Laura Morante), Rejas must choose between his heart, his country, and his own well-being.

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These are the folks who called it slow, too restrained, confusing.

For the thinking viewer, this movie is not slow, and it is not confusing. It is a visual feast that leaves the mind, and soul, reeling; it is a puzzle that stays unfinished just long enough to make its points, and then closes with a heartbreakingly poignant finale.

It is a tightly plotted, emotionally moving film that can be taken on several levels: as a political thriller, as a police procedural, as a meditation on the pleasures of domestic life v. extramarital passion.

Most powerfully, though, this film talks about, and parallels, explosions -- the explosions of art, of politics, of terrorism, and of passion -- v. restraint. The restraint, for example, of a good man trying to live a decent life in a broken world.

It's hard to talk about this film's most brilliant moments without giving away the whole plot, and that you don't want to do, because this movie's surprises are well worth it.

But one can say -- watch how Malkovich uses the color red. Watch how he uses bars, as if the bars of a cage, when shooting Javier Bardem. Notice parallels, including in a scene where a young girl dances before a series of reflecting mirrors. Note the music she dances to. Notice who is the sole person ever to have photographed a certain elusive terrorist.

Note references to Kant, most famous for his "Critique of Pure Reason."

No, this film is no art house puzzle. But it does offer more than the pure pleasure and visual excitement of a nail biting political thriller, which it offers as well.

It offers us food for thought about one of the biggest issues of the day -- terrorism.

Is it ever right, this film asks, to give in to one's momentary passion and explode, either literally or metaphorically, when confronted with a variety of stimuli, from finding the love of your life, even if you're married to someone else, to having your coffee plantation seized by government troops?

And, what kind of person has something in common with a terrorist, anyway? The answer the film offers might surprise you.

I loved this movie. I wish more of my fellow viewers had gotten it. This film, in addition to being simply beautiful and entertaining, sets before us some of the biggest questions of the day.

Finally, Bardem's performance, a masterpiece of restrained passion and thought, is not to be missed.

Malkovich hit the bullseye.

20 of 21 found the following review helpful:

Intelligent and subtle film debut for John MalkovichSep 24, 2003
By Grady Harp
THE DANCER UPSTAIRS is a fine example of how films conceived and produced by this country can have all the qualities we honor (and hunger for) in foreign films. Based on true events in the late 1980's in Peru, THE DANCER UPSTAIRS is adapted for the screen from the novel by the same name by the author - Nicholas Shakespeare. The story itself is one of extremes in terror, murder, heinous crimes, and all that is associated with terroist activities in a revolutionary framework. Yet Shakespeare has written a screenplay that focuses more on minds of his characters than on their acts. The 'revolutionary' is a professor of philosophy and his nemesis, tracing his identity and capture, is a thinking man's policeman - a lawyer who turned in his black robes to find a better way to discover honesty. Although Malkovich does not spare images that convey the atrocities (children as suicide bombers, slaughtered dogs hanging from the street lamps, mafia-style executions), he does not dwell on them but rather focuses on the impact on the mind of his lead detective. Javier Bardem is the lead actor here and surpasses his previous successes by demonstrating that he is a 'work in progress' - an actor who grows with every difficult assignment he encounters. His sidekick is well acted by Juan Diego Botto, an actor who knows the subtlties of 'supporting role'. The lead women actors, Laura Morente(as the dancer of the title) and Alexandra Lancastre (as Bardem's wife), are as subtle as they are beautiful, making us believe in the inevitable proof of Bardem's human frailty as he forges his imperturable trail toward justice.

The accompanying featurettes are involving conversations and commentaries by Nicholas Shakespeare (who actually lived in Lima, Peru while the 'Shining Path' revolution he describes actually was taking place), by John Malkovich regarding his choices of electing to cast his film with an entirely Spanish speaking crew yet speaking in English and for not naming the country or the particular timeframe of the story which he hopes will make the story more a parable than a docudrama, and by Javier Bardem who addresses the difficulties of keeping his character cerebral. And for once these features truly enhance the film's message.

It is refreshing to know that movies of this caliber exist and that, hopefully, Malkovich will continue his brave stance as a director of consummate taste and subtlety. Highly Recommended, but be prepared to think.

14 of 14 found the following review helpful:

An impressive debut with an original plot conceptMay 19, 2003
By JK
This film has generated a lot of negative reviews by people who are blinded by their conception of "typical" plot structures.

Important in this film is not the primary plot about a terrorist group starting a revolution in a Latin American nation, but about one man, the policeman hunting down the terrorist leader. Unlike a film like Se7en, in which the hunt is as enthralling as the personal struggle of the protaganist, thus giving the casual film goer their eye-candy, in this film the hunt serves only to illuminate the feelings Rejas. He is alienated from a corrupt system, alienated from his shallow wife, and he has found solace in the artistic purity of his daughter and her dance instructor.

This film is not for someone looking for a taut political thriller or police cat-and-mouse game. It's a character study more like In the Bedroom than a police movie like Se7en.

The cinematography is excellent, and the locations that Malkovich chose to shoot perfectly fit the mood of the film. The pacing is slow, and the only thing keeping it from dragging is the emotional intensity of Javier Bardem. Still, at almost two and a half hours, Malkovich could have cut the film by about twenty minutes.

21 of 23 found the following review helpful:

An Elegant and Moody ThrillerJul 17, 2004
By Debbie Lee Wesselmann
In "The Dancer Upstairs," John Malkovich delivers a complex, moody crime drama set in a Latin American city. Ambivalent police captain Rejas (Javier Bardem) is assigned to track down Ezequiel, an elusive revolutionary terrorist, and his followers. As explosions rage around the city, Rejas and his team race to discover the identity of their man. Unlike an ordinary cop drama, the film gives Rejas's personal life weight. He is caught in a listless marriage and falls in love with his daughter's ballet teacher Yolanda, well played by Laura Morante. In this film, however, nothing is cut-and-dried, and even Rejas's emotional attachment to Yolanda has its dark twists.

Although the plot itself is suspenseful, much of the tension in this film is created through cinematography and directorial decisions - close-ups, shots of the setting, the use of color, the spare music. The acting is understated, making the few outbursts explosive in context. Bardem has so carefully drawn his character under his skin that he conveys a range of emotions through his expressions and gestures, giving his character a subtly only gifted actors can achieve.

My biggest complaint about this film was the heavily accented actors speaking in English. I'm sure I missed some of the complexity simply because I couldn't understand all of what was being said. I would have much preferred a Spanish language film with subtitles, an appropriate choice given the setting and the performers. It has all the feel of a foreign film, so why not go all the way?

Viewers who expect a Hollywood thriller should look elsewhere, as this might be best described as a well-plotted art house film. I highly recommend it for those who are willing to accept the slower pace of psychological intensity.

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