John Malkovich's directorial debut casts Javier Bardem as Agustin Rejas, a cop in an unidentified South American country trying to find members of a revolutionary movement (which seems to have been based on the Shining Path). More than simply a good-cop-versus-bad-guys story, "The Dancer Upstairs" shows how Rejas understands his job, but has to deal with corruption, intrigue, and other things. One might say that Rejas sort of becomes as revolutionary as the people whom he's seeking, given how he comes to question the legitimacy of everyone and everything around him. Or maybe I'm going too far in analyzing this movie. It's worth seeing, if only once. Also starring Juan Diego Botto and Laura Morante.
Review of The Dancer Upstairs
