Masayuki Suo: An American Cinematheque Tribute

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The American Cinematheque is excited to pay tribute to highly acclaimed filmmaker Masayuki Suo, whose collection of poignant character-driven stories centered around the outsiders and underdogs of contemporary Japan has charmed global audiences for decades. Our tribute will spotlight three 4K restorations, including Suo’s feature directorial debut FANCY DANCE, as well as two films that won numerous Japanese Academy Awards, sports comedy SUMO DO, SUMO DON’T and the international sensation SHALL WE DANCE?.

Masayuki Suo broke into the industry as a director and screenwriter on the sets of “pink” films, a genre that employs an amalgamation of elements from pornography, erotica and sexploitation. Suo was an assistant director on Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s pink film, KANDAGAWA PERVERT WARS in 1983. Eventually transitioning into non-pink films, Suo’s regular feature debut FANCY DANCE was released in 1989 and tells the story of a young singer in a rock band who becomes a Buddhist monk in order to inherit his family’s temple. SUMO DO, SUMO DON’T was released three years later and won five Japanese Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. An eccentric sports comedy about a university student forced to join his school’s sumo wrestling team, Suo’s first major successful film was recently adapted into a spin-off series on Disney+. His global breakthrough hit, SHALL WE DANCE? is credited with reviving the inert Japanese film industry of the time, taking home fourteen Japanese Academy Awards and performing strongly in American theatres. This heartfelt romantic drama about a salaryman who steps out of his comfort zone and embraces the world of ballroom dancing was remade a few years later with Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Lopez starring.