Forbidden Tango

Plenty of details about this title in other reviews so I won't repeat them here. Suffice to say that this is a charming comedy with a few well-chosen messages about tolerance and community. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can recommend it for all ages.

This was pitched as a comedy about a rabbi trying to navigate Argentine tango dancing while adhering to his religious tenets. It's ... not that. There's hardly any dancing, the movie dwells on excessive and unnecessary B-roll footage when time could be spent on better script writing and character development. The film tries to make a bigger point about religious pluralism, but ends up whiffing given that the script writer probably spent 20 minutes on Wikipedia looking up the traditions of each faith. The lack of depth absolutely shows, and the filmmakers try to patch over it by providing elaborate shots of religious ceremonies.

The acting quality wavered from Hallmark movie to high school production - and I'm not even referring to the kids (who were fine). The jokes were dragged out, intolerably so.

So that this isn't a completely negative review, a couple of standouts from this otherwise. I thought Judi Beecher as Raquel, Moshe's wife, acted well, given the material that she had. Her character was the only one with any sort of depth. Karina Smirnoff was also in her element in the dance scenes, although her character suffered from lack of proper development.

This film had a lot of promise but missed the mark completely.

Tango Shalom is a terrific and fun film! I enjoyed the story about a man who has to overcome the limits of his faith in order to enter a dance contest. The cast is first rate with both well-known actors and fresh faces. It's an uplifting and inspiring tale that is suitable for the entire family! Plus the dancing is superb! Go see it!

A truly bad film, with amateur acting, writing and directing. My husband and I are still in shock that this even made it to theaters. The storyline could have been decent, but there were many times where the characters' goofiness or poor acting got in the way. A better editing job could have fixed some of this.

If you look Massimo Zeri up on IMDB you will see he worked with Fellini, Mazursky, and Merchant Ivory! His lighting of the different houses of worship in Tango Shalom highlighted such diverse iconography, showing off how each culture is a world unto its own! The elements of wood, single-source lighting, and rich, old-world traditions in the synagogue, to the vibrant colors in the Sikh temple, to the gold patina in the mosque, to the kaleidoscopic light in the stain-glassed church, Mr. Zeri took us on a cinematic odyssey! A a blazing display of bravura!

Bravissimo!