The Ballroom

"The week's hidden gem is at the ICA, a lovely Brazilian film ... The music is superb and the camerawork by Walter Carvalho thrilling." Guardian

This charming film tells the stories of various ballroom dancers and a sole night at the ballroom. Filled with song and dance, the events make spectators feel as if they were a part of the pulsating life inside the ballroom.

Circular, as is the ballroom, the story revolves around Marici (Cássia Kiss), and Eudes (Stepan Nercessian), who go to the dance together. Marici makes friends with Bel (Maria Flor), a young “outsider” in the ballroom, who dates the young man responsible for the sound system, Marquinhos (Paulo Vilhena). Eudes takes Bel out to dance, provoking an array of diverse reactions. In the meantime, Alice (Tônia Carrero) and Álvaro (Leonardo Villar) suffer the limitations of age, but unwilling to abandon the dances. And Elza (Betty Faria), excited, arrives full of expectations bringing a newcomer in hand - Nice (Mirian Mehler).

Their stories mix in with that of others, not less vibrant. The libido of one couple of tango dancers almost overflows from the screen; two women (the wife and her husband’s lover) vie for the same dancer; a fat man dances alone; the waiter ties the plot together, as if using needle and thread.