Directed by John Malkovich. 135 minutes.
Starring Javier Bardem, Juan Diego Botto, Laura Morante, Elvira Minguez, Alexandra Lencastre. Released by Fox Searchlight Pictures.
The Dancer Upstairs is a timely movie indeed. Based
on the novel by Nicholas Shakespeare (but not related to that other
Shakespeare, also an author of stories about regime unrest), the story follows
a detective, played by a sad-eyed and sullen Javier Bardem, who was last seen
brilliantly playing Cuban poet, Reinaldo Arenas, who has been assigned to track
down a terrorist and his seemingly numerous counterparts that have obviously
been based on the Peruvian Shining Paths, a terrorist group infamous for
kidnapping and murdering tourists. The film is shot in the style of Constantin
Costa-Gavras’ political thrillers of the late 1960s and early 70s, namely Z
and State of Siege, which the terrorists even use as a point
of reference for their acts, and marks the directorial debut for actor John
Malkovich. It is a powerful and sturdy debut that ranks with other recent actor
cum director efforts such as Ed Harris’ Pollock and Bill Paxton’s Frailty.
As the film opens,
a strange thing occurs. A jeep filled with four people, three men and a woman
that is driving, speeds down a lonesome night highway. An armed man, appearing
to be a military guard, stands in the road, waving for the jeep to slow down.
It not only does not slow down, but runs the guy over. A short while later, the
jeep pulls into some sort of military road stop that checks vehicles passing
through. The attendant, a cheerful man named Rejas (Bardem), decides to give
the group a break. The man who does all the speaking for the group claims that
he currently is without picture identification. Rejas claims that the written
ID suffices, snaps a picture for the man, gives it to them, and asks them to
wait for one moment as he answers a phone call. They speed off as he heads
inside. Five years pass.
Rejas has found his
way into the police force and has made detective. A series of brutal terrorist
attacks, one of which is reminiscent of the scene in The Untouchables where a young child is asked to carry a bomb-laden suitcase into a
diner. Dozens of innocents are killed. Then, strangely enough, political
assassinations sweep the unnamed city (we are told that the film takes place in
the capitol of a city in Latin America in the recent past- this may sound vague, but the details honestly do not matter) and
dead dogs, a symbol of Chinese culture, appear strung up on lampposts, reading
“Vive el presidente Ezequiel (Long Live President Ezequiel).” We assume that
the leader of the terrorist organization, based upon Abimael Guzman (the leader
of the Shining Paths in the 1980s) is this Ezequiel, named after a Biblical
figure.
As Rejas takes on
the case, he simultaneously becomes diverted with a dancer named Yolanda (Laura
Morante), who is giving his daughter ballet lessons. Receiving little to no
attention from his vainglorious and, literally, clueless wife, he becomes fascinated
with Yolanda, attempting to strike up romance with her but also keeping a
distance out of respect for her wishes. While Rejas cannot dig up clues quickly
enough to save the lives of a few government representatives, the military is
sent in to “help,” which really means “take over” his investigation. Though I
will not give away the connection between the film’s opening events, the
relationship of Rejas to Yolanda, and the mystery behind Ezequiel, it is rather
plain to see the end before it comes, which is not disappointing because, well,
this is not that type of movie. This is a film about obsession, perhaps,
diversion, most certainly, and the balance and unbalance of power.
Malkovich is quite
adept behind the camera. The first half of the film plays as a straight mystery
and moves rapidly along. We are instantly drawn to Bardem’s performance
because, though he remains quite solemn throughout, he is a decent man and we
wonder why he wants to take part in this case. He does not seem necessarily
passionate about stopping the terrorist group, while at the same time, appears
horrified at the results of their bombings. He is not hungry for power, though
the opportunity for it is at his disposal several times throughout the story.
There is something hidden behind Rejas’ eyes and attempting to figure out this
mystery is part of the power behind the film.
There are moments
of shocking violence during the film. A young boy is incinerated during a
bombing. A young girl has her lower jaw shot off, exposing her teeth. A woman
is shot through the eye. Donald Rumsfeld recently stated that “freedom is
messy,” but in Malkovich’s film, revolution is even messier. At one point in
the film, a terrorist tells Rejas that, although he (the terrorist) has been
captured, the revolution cannot be diverted because it is in the minds and
hearts of those taking part in it. You can lock a man up, but you can not lock
up the minds and desires of the people. It is ironic that this film, which
portrays a war against terrorism as futile and incapable, has been released
this week, a week in which President Bush, on national television in an address
to the nation, stated that our victory in the war on terrorism is possible in
the near future. Maybe he should see this movie.