| The Ballroom | |
| Director: | Laís Bodanzky |
| Music: | Eduardo Bid. Additional music : "C'est si bon" by Henri Betti (1947) |
| Cinematography: | Walter Carvalho |
| Editing: | Paulo Sacramento |
| Distributor: | Buena Vista International |
| Runtime: | 92 minutes |
| Country: | Brazil France |
| Language: | Portuguese |
| Gross: | R$1,591,603[1] |
The Ballroom (Portuguese: '''Chega de Saudade''') is a 2007 Brazilian-French[2] romantic drama film directed by Laís Bodanzky. The action is set in a dance hall (gafieira) in São Paulo, frequented by elderly people.
David Parkinson of The Guardian called it a "quirky ensemble piece", and praised it for being "superbly choreographed."[3] Daily Expresss Allan Hunter labeled it as "bittersweet" and gave a rating 3 out of 5, saying "If Robert Altman had ever made a film about an old-fashioned dance hall it might have looked something like The Ballroom."[4] Writing for the Evening Standard, Derek Malcom commended it by affirming: "If the film doesn't always convince, it has some wonderful moments. Bodanzky’s sympathy with his characters is obvious — and the music is as much an attraction as the series of stories we are told about them."[5] On the other hand, David Jenkins from Time Out gave a more negative review, stating "this wannabe-steamy film never manages to generate any dramatic heat because it spreads itself far too thinly across its oversized and mundane cast."[6]