Dance Me to My Song (1998)

Director:

Rolf de Heer

Writers:

Heather Rose (written by)
Frederick Stahl (written by)

Release Date:

22 October 1998 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A love triangle? Depends on you point of view really...

Plot:

A woman trapped in a twisted body from her bouts with the debilitating cerebral palsy communicates with the world via her computer with a voice box...

Plot Keywords:

Caretaker | Computer | Cerebral Palsy | Voice Box | South Australia

Awards:

2 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

John Brumpton	...	Eddie
Danny Cowles	...	Joe
Catherine Fitzgerald	...	Dogface
Susie Fraser	...	Social Worker
Carmel Johnson	...	Temporary Carer
Joey Kennedy	...	Madelaine
Phil MacPherson	...	Trev
Rena Owen	...	Rix
Heather Rose	...	Julia

Also Known As:

Aime-moi telle que je suis (Canada: French title) [fr]
Astu elämääni (Finland) [fi]
Balla la mia canzone (Italy) [it]
Dance Me to My Song (France) [fr]
Dance Me to My Song (Finland) [fi]
Hazme bailar mi canción (Spain) [es]

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Spain:18

Filming Locations:

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Company:

Vertigo Productions Pty. Ltd.

Trivia:

The title comes from a poem written by scriptwriter Frederick Stahl. He was a friend of Heather Rose and the poem appeared in an early draft of the script. It reads: "Whatever fate may thrust at me. I'll never be the same. I've had less fear of times to be. Since first I heard your name. I need to feel secure from harm. I will not keep you long. Please hold me tight within your arm. And dance me to my song."

Movie Connections:

Featured in Heather Rose Goes to Cannes (1998)

Soundtrack:

Kizungu

A strange film about a topic we never hear about

A strange, compelling film about a topic we never hear much about. Severely disabled people don't have a voice in our cultural landscape. Like in other films, De Heer manages to tackle topics in ways which are confronting and innovative, such as the way the microphones on Rose's body pick up her body's sounds and give us a very subjective view of her physicality. The script was mostly written by Heather Rose, who played the main role and sadly passed away a few years after the film was made. Apparently she wrote the script together with another severely disabled writer on an early bulletin board (pre-internet) The film is challenging, provocative and has surprising moments of humour.

Isn't creativity and innovation what the art of film-making should be about? Check out other De Heer movies, too, they're all different from each other. B. Huber