THE TANGO LESSON Movie Review

A talented filmmaker named Sally (Sally Potter) who has a single hit movie behind her (not unlike, perhaps, Potter's own successful Orlando) becomes distracted from her new film project when she finds herself immersed in the sensuous world of the tango. Her passion for the dance—and for other things—deepens when she meets and takes lessons from a handsome and legendary Argentinean dancer named Pablo (Pablo Veron). With their outsized egos a match for each other, Pablo and Sally practice the tango on and off the stage, literally and metaphorically, against the backdrop of a glittering, intensely romantic Paris. Granted—there's an unapologetic, Vanity Press tone to Potter's placement of herself at the center of all this romantic and artistic sensuality, but in a sense that's just the idea; The Tango Lesson is a celebration of the personal liberation that the unconditional love of one's self can bring about, including receptivity to the love of others. Potter's brave and intentionally provocative casting of herself in this movie's central role was the justification for many of the critical pot-shots that have been taken at The Tango Lesson, but if critics can accept movies like The Wild Bunch, 8 1/2, Wings of Desire and Naked for what they are—fine films and male fantasies—then why not female fantasies as well? Robby Müller's stunning black-and-white cinematography ought to be seen in a letterboxed video version. The musical score features Carlos Gardel, Yo-Yo Ma and the Klezmatics, and is available on a beautifully produced, cleverly packaged soundtrack CD.

NEXT STOP … Orlando, Carmen, Danzón

1997 (PG) 101m/B GB Sally Potter, Pablo Veron, Gustavo Naveira, Fabian Salas, David Toole, Carolina lotti, Carlos Copello, Peter Eyre, Heathcote Williams; D: Sally Potter; W: Sally Potter; C: Robby Muller; M: Sally Potter, Fred Frith. Nominations: British Academy Awards ‘97: Best Foreign Film. VHS COL