The Tango Lesson

"I've always wanted to be in films," says dancer/choreographer Pablo Veron at one point in The Tango Lesson, to which writer/director Sally Potter replies "I've always wanted to be a dancer." Well, both get their chance in this grating, self-indulgent mess disguised as a fanciful romance. Potter plays a filmmaker who meets Veron while vacationing in Paris, and convinces the dancer to teach her the tango. Along the way they sort of fall in love, dance, sort of break up, dance some more, sort of get back together again, and dance a whole lot more. Somewhere buried in this collection of dance sequences are a few meditations on the need to surrender control and the connections between various art forms, but hey, more power to you if you manage to exhume them. Ultimately, while some of the choreography is impressive, the pretentious narrative robs it of all joy (imagine Gene Kelly directed by Fellini), and the movie carries no emotional pull, thanks to two lead performers with the seasoned acting chops of...well, a director and a dancer. Not recommended. (S. Renshaw)