Mao's Last Dancer

PG
2009
|
117 mins
Trailer
Poster for Mao's Last Dancer

The true, rags-to-riches story of Chinese ballet dancer Li Cunxin - from rural China to ballet stardom as one... More

Where to watch Mao's Last Dancer

Mao's Last Dancer is available to stream in New Zealand... More now on Google Play and Apple TV Store and Academy On Demand and AroVision.

Mao's Last Dancer | Ratings & Reviews

"It's artless, obvious, and at times insultingly exaggerated."

A.V. ClubA.V. Club

"The film celebrates artistic freedom without preaching a sermon, and often flies when Mr. Chi is on screen."

Wall Street JournalWall Street Journal

"Strenuously brainless."

The New York TimesThe New York Times

"Many films have portrayed the rigours of ballet training, but none will make viewers wince quite like Mao's Last Dancer."

The Washington PostThe Washington Post

"Recounts the true story of Chinese ballet star Li Cunxin's defection to the US in the schmaltziest TV-movie terms imaginable."

New York PostNew York Post

"Ballet star Li Cunxin's best-selling autobiography gets a curiously tepid treatment."

Chicago ReaderChicago Reader

"Bruce Beresford can’t even represent Li’s dancing with a modicum of dynamism."

Slant MagazineSlant Magazine

"Leaning heavily on rural childhood flashbacks and boot camp-like training as a teenager in Beijing, the story lights up when world-class performer Chi Cao leaps about as the adult Li, but is marred by lumpy melodrama when the music stops."

VarietyVariety

"Told in flashback and starting with Cunxin's youth, it shows the horrors of living under the Mao regime in China. Li's plucked from a poor school and thrust into a dance academy where he trains as an apprentice."

TVNZTVNZ

"Beresford hasn't usually allowed himself to become this corny. This new film appears calculated to do two things: make everyone cry and maximise its appeal to those red-blooded, childlike Americans who think "freedom" is a US concept."

Sydney Morning HeraldSydney Morning Herald

"It's something of an irony that this film should be as wooden, formulaic and literal-minded as the improving Communist entertainment that, at one point, it implicitly criticises."

New Zealand HeraldNew Zealand Herald

"Feel-good movie about a Chinese dancer presses all the right buttons."

Hollywood ReporterHollywood Reporter

Mao's Last Dancer | Details

Rating
PG, contains coarse language
Runtime
117
Genre
Drama, True Story & Biography
Country of origin
Australia

Mao's Last Dancer | Trailers