Okay, loyal readers, here’s an unofficial list. Signs you know you’re watching a Nicolas Cage film:
1. There’s a surefire melancholy score of upbeat tempos, and downbeats.
2. There’s always a dim filter on the lens, usually with varying shades of gray or blue.
3. Cage is likely playing a glum, and or sad character; you can usually tell by looking at his frown plastered on his face throughout the film.
4. There’s narration, narration, narration, and plenty of it. Not useful narration either, but just to spell out every single action that can easily be dictated through competent editing and direction.
5. There’s usually a slow motion sequence here or there.
6. There’s always a character revelation.
7. His character usually has bad hair, only to accentuate his feeling of inferiority.
I admit I’ve never seen either films, but I watched both one after the other leaving bias’ aside and judged them as separate entities while comparing them to see which one was better. Contradictory, sure, but shut up. Either way, both films are different in terms of their content. While “Shall we Dansu?” is a risqué film in Japan seeing as how human affection isn’t as casual or normal as anywhere else it, “Shall we Dance?” Is normal to the point of being bland. In the country where we watch people having sex on-screen, watching two people dance is nothing worth scoffing at. But in many films in Japan, characters fall in love without ever really kissing, so “Shall we Dansu?” ended up becoming the more original, and layered film.