Highly Overrated But Still Good

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

I was very interested to see this film ever since starting to learn Tango. The reviews seemed favourable enough and the trailer was enticing. Regrettably, it is not a film I can appreciate. It is messy, uneven and pretentious. The plot barely makes sense, the scenes from a supposed film that the protagonist is working on are beyond absurd and the only saving grace is dancing. I only wish there would be more of it and much, much less of the rest. Unfortunately, the learning process is mostly omitted and the protagonist becomes this amazingly proficient dancer all of a sudden - which is implausible to the point of ridiculous - in reality it would take her a minimum of 5 years of intensive work to be able to dance like that - Tango is an incredibly complex and demanding dance, there are few dance forms that are harder (perhaps Ballet and Flamenco). My advice to the viewer is to fast forward to the dance scenes - this way avoiding the waste of their time and being disappointed.

The Tango Lesson was a film in which one can very much see clearly the idea of feminism. Sally is a woman who wanted to learn how to dance tango. She met a man named Pablo who taught her very much on how to dance tango. He dominated her in the sense of how she had to dance, stand, look, etc. While she learned how to dance, she was writing a play that she wanted to publish. As they both practiced on dancing they start to attach feelings for each other. A little after experiencing these feelings she questions Pablo about where exactly they stand (she seemed like she wanted more than just a friendship). He replied to her that he wanted to keep distance and not confuse the professional with the personal.After learning enough to dance in a front of a stage, Sally and Pablo perform in front of an audience. She learned enough that he felt like she was taking more control than she had to. He says that she took his liberty away and he was upset. He had to be in control of the dance and let him guide her. Not the other way around. This is the turning point of the film, she starts getting in control. Her play advances, and she chose who was in her film and she regulated what happened in her film. She is the leader now in the dances, and at the end of the film she instructed them to dance and her personality gave away as a leader.This film portrays how a woman who came from not knowing anything, to a woman who became a leader of her self. Many obstacles were in her way, such as Pablo. He had an idea of a man who had to be in control and it somewhat astonished him when he saw the changes in Sally. I recall in one scene when they are arguing he states, "Let me be in control!" Even through the norms of this society, Sally managed to be in control of her self and what she wanted.

The Tango lesson is an absolute horror. You either have to love tango or the actors or have brought a book or an extremely interesting date, otherwise this movie is unsupportable.My suggestion is to buy a book or go see another movie, in any case, do not rent or go watch this one, unless you have any of the above qualities. If you fail to qualify for any of these, please rest assured that your evening will most likely be spoiled like mine was some years ago. It is beyond comparison with anything I ever have seen before or since.I never left a cinema before the end of a movie but I couldn't wait until the end of this one. You have been warned..

This uncommon film will test your ability to perceive at different levels, on the surface it only portraits what it seems to be a weak plot and the subplot of a movie within a movie, but that are not the points of this movie in my estimation. In another level there are the metaphorical aspects of the Tango (being a dance form born in the gutter motivated by raw instincts and erotic sensuality) versus the all unending male/female quest for love and understanding.This is not the typical follow me through the plot and visuals movie, but instead is about an atmosphere of sound and silent body language, spoken through the haunting sounds of a Bandoneon, lost in the sorrow of its own world. The poetic images and symbolisms are all there for those who can see them, but you need a sensitive and willing heart to find them. Like one of the characters says in the movie `You have to have suffered a lot to understand Tango'. Those who are still too attached to their egos will only see the surface, you have to let yourself go and then you will see.This microcosm of the world of relationships is enveloped in ravishing music and dance, all this tinted with subtle erotic overtones. It is not about the obvious, it is about the inner beauty or not of its characters, and their quest for communicating and understanding love. I find Sally Potter to be the perfect match in every way to Pablo Verón character's ego and abilities. This is a lesson indeed to teach those who live only in the shallow surface of today's society, that real emotions run deeper than the tan of their skin or their "look". To love and to feel is hard work and not just good looks. And to understand a "Tango" you have to dance it, and here they dance it as best as I have seen it on film. And you have to ask yourself. When was the last time you truly held or were held in some one arms in a dance floor at such close distance with such passion? (And I don't mean sexuality as it is imposed commercially in everything now a days).This is a dance of kindled spirits and of two hearts who are emphatic on their pains and joys in their path through life, which see the world so differently but are ultimately united by their passion for the Tango, and to me, here is the real lesson. As it has been said, `You really need two to Tango!' and especially when the lesson is about love.