The Dancer Upstairs is, like its director, sleek, mysterious and intelligent. But until its last-half hour or so, it is also, unfortunately, mind-numbing.
The Dancer Upstairs
An honest man caught in a world of intrigue, power and passion.
2002 · 2h 12m · R
Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Directed by
John Malkovich
Overview
A police detective in a South American country is dedicated to hunting down a revolutionary guerilla leader.
Director and cast
- John Malkovich Director
- Javier Bardem as Agustín Rejas
- Juan Diego Botto as Sucre
- Laura Morante as Yolanda
- Elvira Mínguez as Llosa
- Alexandra Lencastre as Sylvina Rejas
- Oliver Cotton as Merino
- Luís Miguel Cintra as Calderón
- Javier Manrique as Clorindo
- Abel Folk as Ezequiel / Durán
- Xabier Elorriaga as Pascual
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
It thrives on the hush before the explosion instead of its aftermath, and it's that eerie sense of expectation that gives the film its thick aura of suspense.
It is not revolutionary, but it brims with promise and a love of film, and is a fine if worried dance indeed.
Moving, melancholy, and, yes, political.
Reflects its director, being intelligent and elegantly turned-out but distant.
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