Shall We Dance?
Metascore
68 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 18
  3. Negative: 2 out of 18
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  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    88
    One of the more completely entertaining movies I've seen in a while--a well-crafted character study that, like a Hollywood movie with a skillful script, manipulates us but makes us like it.
  2. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    83
    Even when the catharsis we yearn for arrives, it's tinged with restraint. But then, the true romance in Shall We Dance? is more than personal. It's the spectacle of a nation learning to dance with itself.
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Stephen Hunter
    90
    But the movie has a great deal of zest and charm, and Yakusho gets so exactly that crest of melancholy that is a man’s early 40s, until he decides to go for another kind of life, that the movie is infinitely touching.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. RayW.
    10
    A perfect film. I give it an 11. I'm a guy, and this is as close to liking a "chick-flick" as I have ever gotten. This is the most charming film I've ever seen. It is so removed from the ususal Hollywood style obsessed with nauseating two-cent lines and looking "baad" or sickeningly sentimental trifle. "Shall We Danse" offers a small peak into the rigidity of Japanese society telling a simple and heartwarming tale devoid of overt sexual themes or even full blown romance. A great ambassador for Asian drama.… Full Review »
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