A very intriguing film. The film communicates sagaciously by employing color and its absence. The first time I saw "The Tango Lesson" I wondered why Potter abandoned the first film, the one in her head with the glorious color. But then I began to understand what the Tango was teaching her about male/female relationships, and I could clearly see that the first film merely posited woman as a victim of male aggression, whereas the Tango Lesson discovered the beauty of a woman's strength. The Tango is not a dance that relies on passivity, or the ability merely to be lead. And this, I think, is key to why this dance becomes such a sensual experience for both men and women. I was also delighted by the way Potter used the painting of Jacob wrestling the Angel to speak about the way men and women are capable of occupying the intimacy of shared space. The film as well as the painting deftly explore the employment of bodies in a movement that calls itself dance, but looks enticingly like life. The film is not about dance. It is about life, which could be dance.
Review of The Tango Lesson
