neumu [ cinematronic ]




	The Dancer Upstairs
	John Malkovich Javier Bardem, Laura Morante, Juan Diego Botto, Elvira Mínguez, Alexandra Lencastre, Oliver Cotton, Luis Miguel Cintra, Javier Manrique, Abel Folk, Marie-Anne Berganza 2002		Despite a tendency to love the performances and cinematography so much that he lingers too long on some scenes, actor John Malkovich comes through when given his first chance to direct a feature film. "The Dancer Upstairs," studiously directed by Malkovich, may be overly lengthy. Still, it deserves an audience. It's a passionate, gravely serious political thriller about a timely topic: the roots and consequences of terrorism. In "The Dancer Upstairs," Javier Bardem (Academy Award nominee as best actor for "Before Night Falls") plays Rejas, a lawyer-turned-police detective in a strife-torn South American country. For years, Rejas has been on the trail of Ezequiel, the elusive leader of an anarchistic Communist faction terrorizing the land. The search seemed futile. Now, as he finds himself attracted to his daughter's beautiful, lithe dance teacher (Laura Morante) and alienated from his wife, Rejas senses that he's about to find his prey. But who's preying on whom? He and his partner get ever closer to Ezequiel, but the cops are being undermined by government forces as well as Ezequiel's followers, in a tempest of conflicting personal, professional and political interests.