"The Dancer Upstairs finds just the right balance between private drama and the political world and may open some eyes to the value of independent thought." Leigh Johnson HOLLYWOOD.COM "Just the type of carefully wrought, somewhat chilly, rather pretentious and extremely intelligent effort one would expect from Malkovich." John Beifuss, COMMERCIAL APPEAL "Javier Bardem is terrific, as usual, in a film that hovers between genres, albeit with considerable grace." John Anderson, NEWSDAY "Subtlety and nuance is Malkovich’s strong suit, and he is careful not to hit viewers with overly predictable or melodramatic scenes." Amit Asaravala FILMCRITIC.COM "Bardem puts in a performance that is the whole movie." Liz Braun JAM! MOVIES

"Bardem ... marvelously underplays here as a man getting resigned to lifelong weariness in both his personal and professional lives." Mike Clark USA TODAY "An accomplished and ambitious directorial debut from John Malkovich." Tom Dawson BBCI FILMS "A haunting and deliberate, complex and occasionally convoluted dance between fanaticism and stoicism." Duane Dudek MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL "Bardem's performance lingers in ways that give the movie resonance." Robert Denerstein DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS "A mature first film, skillfully balancing tension and humor." Annlee Ellingson BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE

At A Glance

"I could feel that this movie was almost a smashing success, that it could have been terrific with just a few tweaks here and there." Eugene Novikov FILM BLATHER

He's as talented as "The Talented Mr Ripley" [and indeed he was Ripley]. He's one ot the greats in the acting profession. There's no doubting his versatility. Who is he? Mr John Malkovich, that's who. That extraordinary man, seen most recently in roles at quiteopposite ends of the scale, first in the crazy "Johnny English" as a frenchman who wanted to be king and then as the deadly, cunning Tom Tipley in "Ripley's Game", has taken the plunge and moved behind the camera to direct his first feature film. But while "The Dancer Upstairs" may be his film crack at directing film, don't be fooled for Malkovich has had the experience directing for the stage. So how did Malkovich and "The Dancer Upstairs" come to be? Malkovich came across the story while reading an article about Nicholas Shakespeares novel in the London Daily Telegraph. In 1988 he came across another feature in Granta Magazine titled, "Searching for Guzman." The article by Nicholas Shakespeare was based on real life events in South America. Guzman was the leader of a revolution known as 'Sendero Luminoso' [The Shining Path] from 1980 till his capture in 1992. As in the film, the detective on the case never gave up. His 12 year search for the revolutions leader ended with the arrest of Guzman in a room above a Lima dance studio. It turned out that the dancer was one of Guzman's top lieutenants. The real life events were just the inspiration Nicholas Shakespeare needed. The novel was well received and in 1997 the American Libraries Association named it the best novel of the year.
As fate would often have it, Malkovich had been to Peru during that period. "I had traveled in Peru in the `80s, which was this sort of heyday for Sendero Luminoso and this was a story I was just taken with," Malkovich said. So what impressed him most about Shakespeares novel? "The tone and style and the way it combines the true and the false captivated me', he says. "That's how it started." The next important task was to find a cast that would be totally believable. For that, he would need Latin actors and he was adamant that casting Spain's Javier Bardem, Italy's Laura Morante and Argentina's Juan Diego Botto in the lead roles was pivotal to making a credible film. "I wanted the actors that I wanted because I think to direct a movie, why do something you don't want to do", he explained. "I saw this movie as small budget with mostly Latin actors that spoke English as a second language," he added, "that was a mandatory, obligatory vision that I had for it." To ensure his vision was not compromised he wrote Bardem, Morante and Botto into his contract. He knows his business, for all three certainly deliver the goods in "The Dancer Upstairs".
For a directorial debut, John Malkovich has done reasonably well with "The Dancer Upstairs". But, and yes I am going to say it, "The Dancer Upstairs" would have been a far better film had it been cut to 110 minutes. Perhaps too, the ending could have been sharpened up a little. That is no disregard to the cast or Malcokich. "The Dancer Upstairs" is still a very entertaining, gripping film to watch. There is a lot of Malkovich in this film and at times there appears to be a lot of Malkovich in Javier Bardems performance as Detective Rejas but while all this works well, overall this film is just a tad too long. The Story

"Intertwines the genres of romance and thriller like a double helix, and the sensitive and crafty Malkovich never cheats one strand for the other." Sean Means SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Agustin Rejas has given up a lot to become a policeman. The former lawyer has lost faith in the countries legal system and thinks he can do more as a detective. Now he is faced with his biggest challenge. An unknown person, known only as Ezequiel, is leading a revolutionary group. They have taken credit for the assassination of a number of prominent political figures. Now the Army wants to take over the investigation. Detective Rejas knows what that will lead to. The worrying factor in the escalating violence is that the acts are being carried out by children. What is worrying is that there are no clues as to the identity of Ezequiel or his followers. Rejas is faced with finding a needle in a hay stack but he will soon have a breakthrough. The clues point to one person. Someone close to him. He will soon have to choose where he stands. The Verdict "Even though you come out feeling that it could have been a bit shorter, "The Dancer Upstairs" is never the less a very fine drama. Javier Bardem is superb as Rejas, a detective suffering a mid-life crisis while caught up in a bloody revolution. "The Dancer Upstairs" is full of intrigue, hypnotic images and a true sense of 'it's all too real'. That's what makes it all the more entertaining." The Cast & Crew

Javier Bardem Juan Diego Botto Laura Morante Elvira Mínguez Alexandra Lencastre Oliver Cotton Luis Miguel Cintra Javier Manrique Abel Folk Marie-Anne Berganza Lucas Rodríguez Xabier Elorriaga Natalia Dicenta Wolframio Sinué Ramiro Jiménez Montserrat Astudillo Chuen Lam José Antonio Izaguirre Isabel Prinz Ignacio Carreño Benjamas Boonnak Tito Garcia

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Rejas Sucre Yolanda Llosa Sylvina Merino Calderon Clorindo Ezequiel Durán Laura Gómez Pascual Marina Santiago Sergeant Pisac Woman in Pick-up Major Kwan Quesada Quesada's Wife Quesada's Bodyguard Chinese Ambassadress Admiral Prado

Directed by John Malkovich From the novel by Nicholas Shakespeare Screenplay by Nicholas Shakespeare Original Music by Alberto Iglesias & Pedro Malgheas Cinematography by José Luis Alcaine Film Editing by Mario Battistel Casting by Katrina Bayonas & Camilla-Valentine Isola Production Design by Pierre-François Limbosch Art Direction by Pierre-François Limbosch Costume Design by Sabine Daigeler Production Supervisor Josean Gómez Run Time 133 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] Copyright © 2003 - Fox Searchlight Films - All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2003 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved