6/10
THE DANCER UPSTAIRS (2002). John Malkovich’s first and so far only film as director is better than we might have hoped for. It stars Javier Bardem as a lawyer turned policeman trying to track down a mysterious terrorist in an unnamed (though Peru is intended) South American country. He’s also falling in love with his daughter’s ballet teacher. Everyone speaks in English, which is slightly inauthentic but means that you subtitle-haters have no excuse not to watch it.
