Although I didn't like the film Breakfast with Giraffes, something told me at the time that I should give Soroush Sehat another chance. Right then, I added Dance with Me to my watchlist - and I must say, I'm quite satisfied with the chance I gave this film.
Although this is Soroush Sehat's first feature film, it is a better work than Breakfast with Giraffes in both form and content. Dance with Me is a calm, heartfelt film filled with beautiful imagery that makes watching it on a Friday afternoon even more pleasant. The movie clearly and directly deals with life and death - one character seeking death, and another trying to escape from it.
I liked Dance with Me for its portrayal of intimacy, the fading of friendships, and its uplifting, light, and liberating atmosphere. I definitely recommend you watch it. My rating for this film is 7 out of 10 (it has a 6.7 rating on IMDb).
But my satisfaction with this movie doesn't end there. I am drawn to films that, in addition to having a surface-level story, also hold deeper meanings beneath. Much like the film Oldboy.
In this film, each character is a symbol of different types of people in society, each carrying with them a bittersweet kind of humor. Here, Soroush Sehat, borrowing from the four ultimate concerns described by Irvin David Yalom and incorporating concepts such as fear of death, loneliness, the search for meaning, and the freedom to choose, has created a work in an existential space. Through the use of a pristine location suited to the film's subject, and with beautiful, well-composed shots, he manages to create a hidden sense of calm, making it easier for the audience to connect with the story.
