Tango (1999)

TANGO Miguel Angel Sola, Cecilia Narova (Columbia TriStar, 115 mins., PG-13, subtitled, also on DVD) There are few dances as dramatic and passionate as the tango. So you would think that a film that embodies the intricacies of the dance would be just as intriguing. But in this Oscar-nominated drama, writer-director Carlos Saura sprinkles the plot so lightly between the fancy footwork that you wonder where the main course really is. The story follows a lovelorn director (Sola) who falls for a much younger dancer -- and paramour of his mobbed-up backer -- while making a (surprise!) tango film. Even though the movie boasts some impressive dance sequences, the wooden characters and stiff dialogue make it altogether limp. C-