The fourteenth-century Catholic mystic Catherine of Siena once observed: "You have nothing infinite except your soul's love and desire." In Shall We Dance? Shohei is a middle-aged accountant who lives with his wife and daughter in a comfortable suburban area. One day while riding the train, he notices a beautiful woman looking out the window of a rundown building. Overwhelmed by his desire to find out more about this woman Shohei boldly enters the place where he saw her and discovers it is a dance school. He signs up for a beginner's class, approaching this challenge with the same earnestness he displays at work.
A wonderful teacher helps him discover how to enjoy the music and relax into the movements. Through consistent practice, Shohei becomes quite accomplished doing the waltz — even catching the eye of the enchanting Mai, the woman in the window, who helps him prepare for a national competition. Eventually his wife and daughter find out about Shohei's secret hobby, but by then he has found a new lease on life.
Japanese writer and director Masayuki Suo shows how desire is a force field that takes us beyond ourselves and enables us to transform our lives. By letting himself go, Shohei is liberated from his middle-aged malaise. He learns to live in the moment, to trust his body, and to flow with the magic elan of dance. And best of all, Shohei enables Mai to see dance competition afresh with the enthusiasm of an amateur. This irresistible Japanese film celebrates the spiritual uplift of boundless desire.
