Shall We Dance? (Shall We Dansu?) (1997)

Near the end of the film, the aloof instructor says of our hero's dance practice, "It warmed my heart." That about sums it up. There isn't a misstep in the script or acting, though there are plenty of them during the dance lessons! It struck me, while watching, how sad it is that any culture robs its people of such innocent pleasure and renewed my appreciation that I live in a place where the pursuit of joy is applauded. The entire cast is marvelous, but Mr. Aoki (Naoto Takenaka) steals the show whenever he's onscreen.

A+