Sally Potter is one of the most respected names in feminist film. The Tango Lesson, while very different from any of her earlier works, seems to be a really personal, even autobiographical film. It's about a middle-aged British filmmaker named Sally Potter. More recent productions have abandoned prudery towards women's bodies and moved to "the other side" of visual pleasure. The film shows Sally's own personal involvement with Tango. Its original purpose of something fun, new, exciting and stress relief from her routine life soon became an obsession causing several conflicts.
The relevance of feminism in the film is blatantly present. A conflict scene in the film is between characters Sally and her Tango partner, teacher and love interest Pablo Veron. The back and fourth arguments are the strongest representation of a feminist point of view in a relationship. After Sally's first Tango performance with Pablo they are involved in a confrontation. Pablo's issue with Sally is that he is the leader and she was to follow which in his eyes she was not doing during the performance. The feminist thought and idea is that men lead woman. Sally replies to this by saying "you danced like a soloist". She said that no emotions were involved in the dance sequence which is extremely important in order to create a believable and interesting performance.
The fact that they were involved in a personal relationship outside of the dancing did not help the situation. Pablo's character was an alpha male who fell for a woman whose strength and power intimidated him. I noticed in the film in several scenes in his house in the bathroom, on top of the fire place, and in the dressing room, Pablo was placed in front of a mirror. His obsession with himself intrigues Sally to a near jealous streak. She is envious of his confidence. He is also in control of the language spoken between the two of them. They both speak French, Spanish and English. When they are not dancing as business partners and enter their personal relationship they speak French. Pablo unable to speak very well English prefers not to while conversing with Sally.
Sally Potter was not considered what society considers beautiful. She was an older woman who dressed moderately, did not wear makeup, and did not possess a voluptuous body. "The gaze" in television and movies is a serious issue for our society. Woman are considered spectacles used as objects of visual and physical pleasure. The director's gaze is present in the film because she represents and analyzes our visual culture in how men and woman perceive each other.
