Review: The Tango Lesson (star) (star) (star)
Sally Potter (herself) and Pablo Veron (himself)
By Jonathan Williams
Near the beginning of The Tango Lesson, Sally Potter asks tango master Pablo Veron why he chose to dance the tango: ³I didnıt choose the tango; the tango chose me.² Of course it did, Pablo. During that split-second pause after his first sentence I knew what his second phrase would be, about being chosen, and I knew that this film would not surprise me, but it would be pleasing. The Tango Lesson is a delightful film, but mostly because it is filled with beauty, beautiful dances, beautiful moments, and beautiful people, especially Pablo and his first partner (unfortunately NOT Sally). But a profound revelation The Tango Lesson is not. Some of the moments, like the one above, contained predictable dialogue, and I found myself marvelling at things I donıt think I was supposed to marvel at. Like what a magnificent dancer Sally Potter is, she does all her own dancing, and how everyone who lives in Paris seems to be able to speak at least three languages. I left the movie, less enthralled by the romantic/man/woman story than by the magical lifestyle that Parisians, especially independent movie makers, seem to lead. I kept wondering if someone like Pablo Veron really can make a living putting on stage shows where the entire show is a series of couples soloing a tango number onstage. Only in Paris, I thought. Remember, for those of you who are provincial American suburbanites like myself, France is a country where they rate intellectuals like Americans rate college football teams. They really are different than us.
I think I was supposed to be captivated by the intrigue of the story--film director meets and learns from tango dancer who later must follow her direction in making a film--but I wasnıt. I think I was supposed to be captivated by the love story that wasnıt a love story, but I wasnıt. I wasnıt bored, but, as I said before, I kept being awed at some of the wrong things. I was awed, and rightfully so, by the dancing. Pablo Veron shines, and Ms. Potter is not far behind for someone whose profession is film directing. And even though I still donıt want to learn the tango, I marvelled at how beautiful dance is. There is a sort of religious, not capital ³R² religious, but cultural religious undertone to the film. Both of the main characters are Jewish and it becomes a connecting point for them. Again, I ended up marvelling less at their connection and more at the cultural stereotype my mind kept trying to draw about Jews truly being the chosen people. Everything the main characters did in the movie, aside from a few awkward moments where Pablo remembered he was acting in a film, seemed effortless, seamless, flawless, like a smooth tango.
To be blunt, one of the reasons the filmıs emotional story line didnıt hook me is because the story seemed contrived, less a reflection of what happened between Sally and Pablo in real life and more a reflection of what she wishes had happened (or didnıt happen). As a couple they danced well together, but they lacked chemistry. Sally Potter just looked so much older than he, and, Iım afraid, so much plainer. Her thin, drawn, elfin face just didnıt make me think tango, even though I knew she was supposed to be a film director first. Call me conventional, but I have to see some obvious physical beauty and energy in a woman onscreen for me to think that another man could fall in love with her. Even though this might have been based on reality, I still had trouble believing he would be attracted to her.
As an aside, I just want to say that there are a couple of humorous moments in the film. At an early point in the film she makes a trip to LA to promote a bizarre script idea that she is seen working on in the filmıs opening. The overdone poolside conversation is cliche but no doubt reminiscent of some real life experiences the director herself must have had trying to pitch aesthetic ideas to people who donıt even know what the word means.
See the film. Not because youıre going to appreciate the similarities between filmmaking and tango dancing or the almost love story or the needlessly weighty things Sally seems to be saying about the creative/artistic process, but see the film because it is not like anything youıre going to see in America for a good long while. And enjoy the dancing. I did, and I caught myself smiling as I watched. A film hasnıt done that to me in a long time.
(c) 1998 Jonathan Williams
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