Synopsis

A British filmmaker in Paris becomes dissatisfied with her screenplay and turns to Argentine tango for inspiration. She asks dancer Pablo to teach her, beginning an intense artistic and personal partnership. As Sally pursues a new film centered on tango, their shared ambitions, romantic tensions, and conflicting ideas about control challenge both the relationship and the creative process.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film is semi-autobiographical. Its central relationship reflects Sally Potter's real-life experience learning Argentine tango from Pablo Veron.

• Potter first contacted Veron for lessons in 1993. After about a year and a half, they became professional dance partners and performed together before developing the feature film.

• Veron was an established stage and tango performer, but this was his first leading role in a motion picture. He also contributed to the film's choreography.

• Most of the film was shot in black and white, while the screenplay-within-the-film and fashion-related passages use vivid color. The contrast separates everyday experience from the more stylized world of cinema and fantasy.

• Potter wrote the film's original music and provides vocals. The soundtrack combines tango standards with newly recorded material, including the closing song "I Am You."

• The film had its first public presentation at the Venice Film Festival on August 29, 1997.