Shinobu Yaguchi's latest movie "Dance With Me," is currently running in theaters. The director is known for delving deep into dramatic development in his films, with unique settings and perspectives.
The new film is an ode to people that invites the audience to watch how the protagonist goes through a growing-up process as she is confounded by trouble that suddenly befalls her.
Shizuka (Ayaka Miyoshi) is a "winner" in society who works for an elite company and lives in a classy condo. One day a mysterious old man called Machin Ueda (Akira Takarada) hypnotizes her at an amusement park so that she starts singing and dancing whenever she hears music. To break the spell, Shizuka searches for the old man with the help of Chie (Yu Yashiro), a former colleague of his, and a detective (Murotsuyoshi).
The musical scenes are elaborately created spectacles. Shizuka walks on rows of office desks as if on a runway, and she sweeps cloths off tables and jumps onto a chandelier at a restaurant. Some scenes are reminiscent of famous old movies.
Yaguchi is a master of big scenes with a large cast as seen in some of his past films, such as "Water Boys," themed on men's artistic swimming, and "Swing Girls," a movie about high school girls playing jazz in a big band. In his previous film, "The Survival Family," the director created a dynamic portrayal of people evacuating big cities and going to regional areas after a blackout.
The highlights of "Dance With Me" start when the music stops. The office is left cluttered with shredded paper falling like flower petals, and the restaurant is a mess with food and shattered wineglasses scattered about. As would be the case if someone actually did something like that, Shizuka gets bombarded with complaints by restaurant management and angry customers. Yaguchi adds a touch of darkness to the situation as if he is trying to ridicule the whole musical genre.
Shizuka, who used to be prim and prudish, lights up when the music starts. When she reverts to her normal self, she looks remorseful as if saying, "Oh, no, I've done it again." Miyoshi expresses the ups and downs of Shizuka's feelings a little exaggeratedly. By showing such a wide range of emotions, the film pulls the audience into the story.
Through meetings with many people, Shizuka learns the joys and sorrows of life. It's an all-too-common development, but also a decent and sound story of growing up, very much a Yaguchi-like work. The success of Yoko (chay), who performs with Shizuka on the street, adds an element of surprise but makes the film lose steam a bit.
Hypnosis explains inevitability
Yaguchi has taken on the challenge of a different theme in each of his films.
Through the heroine who can't help singing and dancing when she hears music, "I was able to show the brilliance and cruelty of musicals," he said of "Dance With Me," his 10th feature-length film.
"I think there are still many people out there who feel at odds with musicals," he said. Maybe it's not that strange with Western works, but he found it a bit awkward to see Japanese people sing in Japanese and dance in a Japanese setting. Trying to find a basis for inevitability in a Japanese musical, he came up with a solution: hypnosis.
"I thought now I'd be able to jump over the hurdle of musicals," he said.
The result was the office scene with shredded pieces of paper flying like a shower of blossoms, and the restaurant scene where Shizuka walks through tables, pulling the table cloths off, doing a pole dance and jumping at a chandelier like a trapeze act.
"I conceived various ideas so that the audience would get hooked. I did everything I could think of," Yaguchi said.
Shizuka happily dances and sings, but when she comes to, she has only regrets.
"Miyoshi showed the contrast superbly," Yaguchi said.
People around Shizuka, who all look happy in the musical scenes, become disgusted and troubled by her, while the restaurant demands she pay an enormous amount of damages.
"It's a horror movie, depending on how you look at it. I can't stop adding such thorns on-screen from time to time," Yaguchi said.
His "Water Boys" launched the career of actor Satoshi Tsumabuki, and so did "Swing Girls" for actress Juri Ueno.
This time, Miyoshi started taking voice and dance lessons several months before shooting started and continued doing so during the shoot. That way, she was able to rid herself of any hint of contrivance.
"She doesn't look like she's acting. She looks as if she is a person living the story. She shines on-screen," the director said.
His films' themes are full of variety and surprises, although Yaguchi does not look for ideas in other films and novels.
"I find my themes from my everyday life, like some odd person I saw in town or some news story that has found its way into my ears. If something intrigues me, I research it and go meet relevant people," he said of his style.
However, he keeps a distance from the latest news and trends.
"I don't even own a smartphone," he said. "I try not to put more information than I can handle in my head."
This may be his recipe for producing his own world.
Visit wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/dancewithme/ for more information.
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