the dancer upstairs (2002). directed by john malkovich.

this is one of my fave movies. i like stories about unassuming people who won't change for anything; like they have this stubbornness, this will in them that sets them apart from other people. this is a country where kick backs, rebellions and dirty politicians are as common as people starving in the corners of the andes mountain. this country could be poor, lacking resources - that we don't know, but we see the extreme ends of society - rich politicians playing their dirty political game, and ordinary people trying to survive the harsh economic realities and from the looks of it, the government doesn't give a shit. until a mad rebel philosopher called ezequiel started moving the masses with his incendiary calls to remove the corrupt government. people responded to that - little pipe bombs over here, dead animals hanging off a lamp post over there. enter agustin rejas, played by javier bardem, who used to be a lawyer before becoming a cop because "justice can not be found in the courtroom, that's when i know the law is not for me". 

now, how many lawyers actually say that?

he is a man of few words and more contradictions to speak of. a lawyer turned cop (should be the other way round), married to a glitzy woman who doesn't seemed to have much in common with him, earning so small a salary as a cop that he has trouble paying the rent when he could have gotten more had he stayed on being a lawyer, and worse of all, as noted by one of the sleazy politicians that he met, why are you still here? why aren't you over in miami leading a grand life? more often not, rejas short answers hardly satisfy the ones asking the questions. 

i like it that this film takes its time to tell the story - about rejas and his team, about the un-named latin american country and its vast groups of people, and the investigative mode that doesn't jump to conclusions building up with each failure and victory as they move closer to the fiery rebels. there were no big bombs exploding  and people thrown off helicopters normally associated with political thrillers; everything passed by quietly that at times, nothing stirred. 

that doesn't mean there is no ruffle underneath that surface.