An entertaining low-budget Australian dancing and romance movie by Baz Luhrman. It is the first movie of his trilogy The Red Curtain.
Strictly Ballroom is, in few words, the story of a ugly dancing duckling who finds her break-the-rules swan dancer. It is the story of Scott, a brilliant ballroom dancer trained in a prestigious dancing school since his childhood, who is to become the next Pan-Pacific champion if he follows traditional ballroom style and moves. However, he has a spirit of his own, a dancing creativity that he's trying to channel and express in front of the public. In his way to become himself as a dancer, he pairs -not previous begging and hard work- with beginner dancer Fran, a shy Spanish girl from a family of flamenco dancers.
The movie has a predictable unoriginal story and stereotypical characters, but the script is light and funny, engaging and fresh, and a little bit Kitch but in a charming way. The musical numbers are danced with talent and great heart, and they are very enjoyable. I especially liked the funny retro images telling the story of Scott's dancing parents through dance, which are truly creative, theatrical, and delightful.
To me, this is Baz Luhrman's most Australian movie, despite not pretending to be so. Definitely more Australian than his movie Australia, but much less pretentious and with much more heart. The movie presents a mix of true Australian characters, Anglosaxons and immigrants (in this case Spaniards), passionate people about competition and sports, always giving their best to win anything - hard working dreamers. Moreover, the characters and the story have a very Australian sense of humor, and the characters speak with a marked Australian strong accent, especially clear in Cariades' character. In fact, the characters and atmosphere somewhat reminded me of those unforgettable ones in the Australian film The Castle.
Overall, the performances are very good. Paul Mercurio and Tana Merice are convincing and good in their acting and dancing. Paul Mercurio is really great in his dancing. All the supporting actors are terrific and nail their characters: Pat Thomson (who died before the movie was premiered) as Scott's mother Shirley, Barry Otto as Scott's father Doug, Gia Carides as Scott's first dancing partner Liz, Bill Hunter as the President of the Ballroom Australian Federation, and Peter Whitford as the owner and director of Les Kendall's Dance Academy. Antonio Vargas and Armonia Benedito are also very charming as Fran's father and grandma.
An unpretentious light heart-warming entertaining movie, with lots of Spanish moments!
Strictly Ballroom is, in few words, the story of a ugly dancing duckling who finds her break-the-rules swan dancer. It is the story of Scott, a brilliant ballroom dancer trained in a prestigious dancing school since his childhood, who is to become the next Pan-Pacific champion if he follows traditional ballroom style and moves. However, he has a spirit of his own, a dancing creativity that he's trying to channel and express in front of the public. In his way to become himself as a dancer, he pairs -not previous begging and hard work- with beginner dancer Fran, a shy Spanish girl from a family of flamenco dancers.
The movie has a predictable unoriginal story and stereotypical characters, but the script is light and funny, engaging and fresh, and a little bit Kitch but in a charming way. The musical numbers are danced with talent and great heart, and they are very enjoyable. I especially liked the funny retro images telling the story of Scott's dancing parents through dance, which are truly creative, theatrical, and delightful.
To me, this is Baz Luhrman's most Australian movie, despite not pretending to be so. Definitely more Australian than his movie Australia, but much less pretentious and with much more heart. The movie presents a mix of true Australian characters, Anglosaxons and immigrants (in this case Spaniards), passionate people about competition and sports, always giving their best to win anything - hard working dreamers. Moreover, the characters and the story have a very Australian sense of humor, and the characters speak with a marked Australian strong accent, especially clear in Cariades' character. In fact, the characters and atmosphere somewhat reminded me of those unforgettable ones in the Australian film The Castle.
Overall, the performances are very good. Paul Mercurio and Tana Merice are convincing and good in their acting and dancing. Paul Mercurio is really great in his dancing. All the supporting actors are terrific and nail their characters: Pat Thomson (who died before the movie was premiered) as Scott's mother Shirley, Barry Otto as Scott's father Doug, Gia Carides as Scott's first dancing partner Liz, Bill Hunter as the President of the Ballroom Australian Federation, and Peter Whitford as the owner and director of Les Kendall's Dance Academy. Antonio Vargas and Armonia Benedito are also very charming as Fran's father and grandma.
An unpretentious light heart-warming entertaining movie, with lots of Spanish moments!