Set to one Mexican love song after another, María Novaro's Danzón walks a delicate line between romance and realism. Taking its title from a formal but erotic Caribbean ballroom dance, the film centers on Julia, a divorced telephone operator whose refuge from ordinary life is her enigmatic dance partner of six years, Carmelo. When Carmelo disappears, Julia goes to Veracruz to find him, embarking on a journey that evolves into a search for her own self. The film moves gracefully from Julia's daily life in Mexico City, one of cramped living spaces and a thankless job as a telephone operator, to her humorous adventures in Veracruz, where she meets and mingles with prostitutes, transvestites, and sailors. With sensitivity and simplicity, director Novaro expresses the state of being a woman alone in a male-oriented society-and the bliss that comes with newfound independence.