This review may contain spoilers
Fantastic Dance Movie with BL flavor
This reviews contains major SPOILERS!
Before I begin, I should preface this by saying I love dance movies! Strictly Ballroom (1992) is one of my favorite movies ever, and I’ve watched it more times than I can count. After realizing the director of 10Dance made some references to it, I talked to someone about 10Dance and Strictly Ballroom. She reminded me of Shall We Dance? (1996), the iconic Japanese movie about falling in love with ballroom dance. So I bought it and rewatched it just now. Definite references to it as well, namely the dancing solo in the open square in the snow, as well as dancing on the train platform.
Two crucial messages from Strictly Ballroom and Shall We Dance are also present in 10Dance. From Strictly Ballroom, “dance is about love. If you cannot convey love and passion through the dance, it is inadequate.” From Shall We Dance?, “remember you are not dancing alone. Ballroom is about the connection between you and your partner.” (I am paraphrasing in both cases.) Both of these messages are crucial to understanding 10Dance and the relationship between Suzuki and Sugiki.
As such, I believe this is a dance movie more than a BL. If you do not enjoy watching dance, you will probably get bored. However, this is a superb dance movie. The actors did a phenomenal job training, and they truly look like professional ballroom dancers to me. (I’m not a trained ballroom dancer but I am a trained ballet dancer—or I once was. I can tell a really talented dancer when I see one.) It is not just that they are good dancers, though. They absolutely embody their characters through their different dance styles. Suzuki is passionate, wild, full to overflowing with love and desire for others and for life. Sugiki is controlled, disciplined, superbly trained and taught to act like an artistocrat. We see these character differences through how they move. We also see these differences in non-dance scenes as well, like when Sugiki takes Suzuki out to eat. (Quite a humorous scene yet also so insightful.) The restaurant is so button down and oozing wealth. On the flip side, when Suzuki takes Sugiki to see his home and “little Cuba” in Tokyo, we see the opposite side. Rundown surroundings, but joyful drinking, free-form dancing, wild behavior, and general abandonment. (The visit to “little Cuba” is also a direct reference to Strictly Ballroom, when the FL takes the ML to her poor neighborhood to meet her Spanish family and learn the true feel of Hispanic culture and ballroom dance.)
What’s important about the interaction between these characters is what they have to offer each other. They are both aware they are using each other, but also greatly admire each other, and may even be developing feelings of love for each other. Yes, the tension between them is palpable, but it isn’t only sexual. They are both searching the other for what they are missing in themselves. Sugiki is told by his mentor that there is no “love” when he dances. He later describes to Suzuki his compulsive need to keep dancing at when he was previously at Blackpool, even when his partner was falling apart. He calls himself “the grim reaper.” At first I didn’t understand this description, but I now believe he was thinking of how he killed any feelings—feelings he and his partner were experiencing in the past, in order to keep dancing. He sees himself as devoid of feeling. When Suzuki dismisses his story (the English subtitle was that’s “lame,” which I hate, but we get the gist.) Sugiki realizes in that moment that Suzuki is the key to unlocking feelings in himself, both through passion for each other and for the dance. (Again, back to Shall We Dance?, where the main characters are both the key to unlocking each other’s love for and devotion to dance.) After Sugiki’s realization, we get the iconic Japanese BL running scene, before a passionate kiss. This mislead me into thinking this would be more of a typical romance BL. Instead of becoming lovers, however, when we next see the two kissing and heading towards more, Sugiki says no. He is afraid if he gives in to passion he will lose his self-control. That self-control has brought him this far, and he relies on it. He is not ready to let it go. This was so disappointing as a romance viewer, but satisfying for the story because it shows Sugiki’s ultimate motivation and goal: to win above all else. Suzuki, ever emotional, however, cries.
When we are finally reunited with both Suzuki and Sugiki in Blackpool after 6 months, they compete in their respective categories as if nothing has changed between them. But then the demonstration or honor dance arrives, and shockingly (ok, maybe not that shocking), Sugiki picks Suzuki as his dance partner. They then dance like we have never seen them dance before, with restraint on Suzuki’s side, abandon on Sugiki’s, joy in their faces, and a new level of overall mastery. We see what they can achieve as a couple, as partners. Then we are left with the lovely kiss and that (heartbreaking) line “until 10Dance,” leaving us drooling and wishing for more as dance fans and as romantics. But I guess we can’t have it all. Yet, I hope.
Besides this wonderful story, we have a film with two truly phenomenal actors who convey this story almost exclusively through movement and facial expressions, while making us believe they are in fact Suzuki and Sugiki. We also have a director who knows how to film dance. He gives us full-body views to show off the choreography, facial close-ups to convey the emotions, and overhead shots to enhance the beauty of the movement. The cinematography in general is beautiful, with so many atmospheric shots of the different locations and their accompanying emotional beats. The music, while largely traditional ballroom music, was also perfect.
So while I am desperate for a sequel, I cannot really find much fault with this film. It delivered two of my favorite things, dance and romance, in an exquisite package. I really hope others can see what I see here. And I hope for a sequel, of course.
Before I begin, I should preface this by saying I love dance movies! Strictly Ballroom (1992) is one of my favorite movies ever, and I’ve watched it more times than I can count. After realizing the director of 10Dance made some references to it, I talked to someone about 10Dance and Strictly Ballroom. She reminded me of Shall We Dance? (1996), the iconic Japanese movie about falling in love with ballroom dance. So I bought it and rewatched it just now. Definite references to it as well, namely the dancing solo in the open square in the snow, as well as dancing on the train platform.
Two crucial messages from Strictly Ballroom and Shall We Dance are also present in 10Dance. From Strictly Ballroom, “dance is about love. If you cannot convey love and passion through the dance, it is inadequate.” From Shall We Dance?, “remember you are not dancing alone. Ballroom is about the connection between you and your partner.” (I am paraphrasing in both cases.) Both of these messages are crucial to understanding 10Dance and the relationship between Suzuki and Sugiki.
As such, I believe this is a dance movie more than a BL. If you do not enjoy watching dance, you will probably get bored. However, this is a superb dance movie. The actors did a phenomenal job training, and they truly look like professional ballroom dancers to me. (I’m not a trained ballroom dancer but I am a trained ballet dancer—or I once was. I can tell a really talented dancer when I see one.) It is not just that they are good dancers, though. They absolutely embody their characters through their different dance styles. Suzuki is passionate, wild, full to overflowing with love and desire for others and for life. Sugiki is controlled, disciplined, superbly trained and taught to act like an artistocrat. We see these character differences through how they move. We also see these differences in non-dance scenes as well, like when Sugiki takes Suzuki out to eat. (Quite a humorous scene yet also so insightful.) The restaurant is so button down and oozing wealth. On the flip side, when Suzuki takes Sugiki to see his home and “little Cuba” in Tokyo, we see the opposite side. Rundown surroundings, but joyful drinking, free-form dancing, wild behavior, and general abandonment. (The visit to “little Cuba” is also a direct reference to Strictly Ballroom, when the FL takes the ML to her poor neighborhood to meet her Spanish family and learn the true feel of Hispanic culture and ballroom dance.)
What’s important about the interaction between these characters is what they have to offer each other. They are both aware they are using each other, but also greatly admire each other, and may even be developing feelings of love for each other. Yes, the tension between them is palpable, but it isn’t only sexual. They are both searching the other for what they are missing in themselves. Sugiki is told by his mentor that there is no “love” when he dances. He later describes to Suzuki his compulsive need to keep dancing at when he was previously at Blackpool, even when his partner was falling apart. He calls himself “the grim reaper.” At first I didn’t understand this description, but I now believe he was thinking of how he killed any feelings—feelings he and his partner were experiencing in the past, in order to keep dancing. He sees himself as devoid of feeling. When Suzuki dismisses his story (the English subtitle was that’s “lame,” which I hate, but we get the gist.) Sugiki realizes in that moment that Suzuki is the key to unlocking feelings in himself, both through passion for each other and for the dance. (Again, back to Shall We Dance?, where the main characters are both the key to unlocking each other’s love for and devotion to dance.) After Sugiki’s realization, we get the iconic Japanese BL running scene, before a passionate kiss. This mislead me into thinking this would be more of a typical romance BL. Instead of becoming lovers, however, when we next see the two kissing and heading towards more, Sugiki says no. He is afraid if he gives in to passion he will lose his self-control. That self-control has brought him this far, and he relies on it. He is not ready to let it go. This was so disappointing as a romance viewer, but satisfying for the story because it shows Sugiki’s ultimate motivation and goal: to win above all else. Suzuki, ever emotional, however, cries.
When we are finally reunited with both Suzuki and Sugiki in Blackpool after 6 months, they compete in their respective categories as if nothing has changed between them. But then the demonstration or honor dance arrives, and shockingly (ok, maybe not that shocking), Sugiki picks Suzuki as his dance partner. They then dance like we have never seen them dance before, with restraint on Suzuki’s side, abandon on Sugiki’s, joy in their faces, and a new level of overall mastery. We see what they can achieve as a couple, as partners. Then we are left with the lovely kiss and that (heartbreaking) line “until 10Dance,” leaving us drooling and wishing for more as dance fans and as romantics. But I guess we can’t have it all. Yet, I hope.
Besides this wonderful story, we have a film with two truly phenomenal actors who convey this story almost exclusively through movement and facial expressions, while making us believe they are in fact Suzuki and Sugiki. We also have a director who knows how to film dance. He gives us full-body views to show off the choreography, facial close-ups to convey the emotions, and overhead shots to enhance the beauty of the movement. The cinematography in general is beautiful, with so many atmospheric shots of the different locations and their accompanying emotional beats. The music, while largely traditional ballroom music, was also perfect.
So while I am desperate for a sequel, I cannot really find much fault with this film. It delivered two of my favorite things, dance and romance, in an exquisite package. I really hope others can see what I see here. And I hope for a sequel, of course.
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