| The Dancer Upstairs | |
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Movie poster |
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| Directed by | John Malkovich |
| Produced by | Andrés Vicente Gómez John Malkovich |
| Written by | Nicholas Shakespeare (novel and screenplay) |
| Starring | Javier Bardem Juan Diego Botto Laura Morante Elvira Mínguez Wolframio Sinué |
| Music by | Alberto Iglesias Madredeus Yul Anderson |
| Cinematography | José Luis Alcaine |
| Editing by | Mario Battistel |
| Distributed by | Fox Searchlight |
| Release date(s) | January 11, 2002 (Sundance Film Festival) |
| Running time | 133 min. |
| Country | United States Spain |
| Language | English |
The Dancer Upstairs is a 2002 drama suspense film directed by John Malkovich in his directorial debut, starring Javier Bardem and Juan Diego Botto. The film is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Nicholas Shakespeare, who also wrote the screenplay.
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Detective Agustín Rejas (Bardem) is tracking the self-styled President Ezequiel (Abel Folk), a Marxist-influenced guerrilla waging a brutal terrorist campaign against the corrupt-yet-democratic government of an unnamed Latin American country. Contrasting with the violence and death in his professional life, Rejas begins to fall for Yolanda (Laura Morante) - his daughter's beautiful ballet teacher. But she may not be all she appears, and his growing attraction to her brings him in direct conflict with his prey.
The story is inspired by the Maoist insurgency in Peru known as the Shining Path. Its leader Abimael Guzmán, who was known by the nom de guerre President Gonzalo, was captured in an apartment above a ballet studio in the capital Lima in 1992. The ballet teacher Yolanda was based on Maritza Garrido Lecca, the woman in whose apartment Guzmán was found. Bardem's character was inspired by Benedicto Jimenez and General Antonio Ketin Vidal, the leading figures responsible for Guzmán's capture.[1]
The movie was shot in Porto, Portugal. The original theatrical release included a quick scene (about 2-3 seconds) of a map of Lima, Peru. This scene is deleted from the DVD release.
A lamppost sign reads: "When I hear the word culture, I reach for my pistol." This is a quotation usually misattributed to Nazi leader Hermann Göring.
The seized videotape is labeled "Estado de sitio"; this happens to be the Spanish title for the film State of Siege by Costa Gavras. There turns out to be an execution on the tape. Later, portions of Gavras' film itself are also seen on the tape.
The wisecrack joke about "pubes on a coke can" is a reference to the Judge Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings.