The Dancer Upstairs (film)

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The Dancer Upstairs
DVD cover
Directed by	John Malkovich
Produced by	Andrés Vicente Gómez John Malkovich
Written by	Nicholas Shakespeare
Starring	Javier Bardem Juan Diego Botto Laura Morante Elvira Mínguez
Music by	Alberto Iglesias Pedro Malgheas
Cinematography	José Luis Alcaine
Editing by	Mario Battistel
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	January 11, 2002 (Sundance Film Festival)
Running time	133 min.
Country	USA Spain
Language	English
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IMDb profile

In 2002, John Malkovich made his directorial debut with a film adaptation of the book of the same name by Nicholas Shakespeare, starring Javier Bardem.

[edit] Synopsis

Detective Agustin Rejas (Bardem) is tracking Ezequiel (Abel Folk), a Marxist-influenced revolutionary who incites the oppressed masses to join in his Insurgency against a military dictatorship in an unnamed Latin American country. Rejas meets Yolanda (Morante)--his daughter's beautiful ballet teacher. But she may not be who she appears to be and his growing attraction to her brings him in direct conflict with his prey.

[edit] Historical Basis

The story is inspired by historical events and people, most notably Maoist insurgent leader Abimael Guzmán, who was also known by the nom de guerre President Gonzalo.