10DANCE

10 Dance explores dance as an emotional language, pairing two rival dancers whose opposing styles reflect their inner emptiness and desire to connect. As ambition and forbidden feelings blur the line between competition and intimacy, their pursuit of perfection demands both technical and emotional sacrifice. Though rich in theme and rhythm, the film stumbles in execution, leaving its powerful ideas slightly short of a truly resonant finale. Read the full review here: (Indonesian version : alunauwie.com) and (English version : uwiepuspita.com)

For me, this was a bit of a disappointment. It was a Japanese production, but most of it was set outside of Japan, so the cultural aspect that you expect really wasn't there. Then there's the story; you have two strong male dancers, one in Latin Music and one in Ballroom and they decide to train together to compete in a competition where you have to do both types of dance. Spoiler: Most of the movie was centered around training and it ends before you get to the actual competition. Then there are the characters, nothing against the actors, but the story, romance and purpose just really felt forced. The one character has no depth, and when they tried to write that in, it just felt flat. The chemistry between them was just not there and then they forced it for the story. It really didn't come across as passion where they were both aligned. One had passion for the dance, but not believably for the other guy; and the other guy was just the opposite, where his passion for the dance seemed lacking. Yes, they danced well and there was a scene at the end where they danced together, and I've read some rave reviews about that; and while I did enjoy that part, I don't think it was all that moving. For a movie about dancing, it had a very slow tempo and a lack of any real passion with a romance that felt tacked on to fill in space where they could fit it in.