The Tango Lesson (1997)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Sally Potter

Writer:

Sally Potter (writer)

Release Date:

14 November 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

On a trip to Paris Sally meets Pablo, a tango dancer. He starts teaching her to dance then she returns to London to work on some "projects"...

Plot Keywords:

Paris | Tango | Dance | Film In Film | Hollywood

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins

Cast

Sally Potter	...	Sally
Morgane Maugran	...	Red Model
Géraldine Maillet	...	Yellow Model
Katerina Mechera	...	Blue Model
David Toole	...	Fashion Designer
George Yiasoumi	...	Photographer
Michele Parent	...	Seamstress
Claudine Mavros	...	Seamstress
Monique Couturier	...	Seamstress
Matthew Hawkins	...	Bodyguard
Simon Worgan	...	Bodyguard
Pablo Verón	...	Pablo
Carolina Iotti	...	Pablo's partner
Zobeida	...	Pablo's Friend
Orazio Massaro	...	Pablo's Friend

Also Known As:

La leçon de tango (France)
La lección de tango (Argentina)
Tango-Fieber (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG for brief language and some violent images.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

UK | France | Argentina | Germany | Netherlands

Language:

English | French | Spanish

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Finland:S | France:U | Mexico:A | Netherlands:AL | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina

Company:

Adventure Pictures

Quotes:

Sally: How did you choose the tango?
Pablo: I didn't. The tango chose me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Bleeder (1999)

A lesson indeed

This uncommon film will test your ability to perceive at different levels, on the surface it only portraits what it seems to be a weak plot and the subplot of a movie within a movie, but that are not the points of this movie in my estimation. In another level there are the metaphorical aspects of the Tango (being a dance form born in the gutter motivated by raw instincts and erotic sensuality) versus the all unending male/female quest for love and understanding.

This is not the typical follow me through the plot and visuals movie, but instead is about an atmosphere of sound and silent body language, spoken through the haunting sounds of a Bandoneon, lost in the sorrow of its own world. The poetic images and symbolisms are all there for those who can see them, but you need a sensitive and willing heart to find them. Like one of the characters says in the movie `You have to have suffered a lot to understand Tango'. Those who are still too attached to their egos will only see the surface, you have to let yourself go and then you will see.

This microcosm of the world of relationships is enveloped in ravishing music and dance, all this tinted with subtle erotic overtones. It is not about the obvious, it is about the inner beauty or not of its characters, and their quest for communicating and understanding love. I find Sally Potter to be the perfect match in every way to Pablo Verón character's ego and abilities. This is a lesson indeed to teach those who live only in the shallow surface of today's society, that real emotions run deeper than the tan of their skin or their "look". To love and to feel is hard work and not just good looks. And to understand a "Tango" you have to dance it, and here they dance it as best as I have seen it on film. And you have to ask yourself. When was the last time you truly held or were held in some one arms in a dance floor at such close distance with such passion? (And I don't mean sexuality as it is imposed commercially in everything now a days).

This is a dance of kindled spirits and of two hearts who are emphatic on their pains and joys in their path through life, which see the world so differently but are ultimately united by their passion for the Tango, and to me, here is the real lesson. As it has been said, `You really need two to Tango!' and especially when the lesson is about love.