Mao's Last Dancer

I loved this movie and will watch it again. A true story of proverty and triumph and the hard work of one individual.

I became interested in this story due to a reference to "Mao's Last Dancer" during the recent Winter Olympics. It seems that US-born Olympic Gold Medalist skater Nathan Chen skated to a number from "Mao's Last Dancer" during the Olympics four years ago, which caused the Chinese public to take umbrage at his presence in China for the recent Olympic Winter Games to complete for the US ice skating team and more specifically for the individual men's Gold medal. Which he won. "Mao's Last Dancer" is a story (book and movie) about a native Chinese ballet dancer, Li Cunxin, who defected to the United States from China in the 1980s in the face of considerable adversity. The Chinese government tried to keep him from defecting and the story does not hold them in the best of light, to say the least. Anyway, after hearing the reference to "Mao's Last Dancer", I checked it out online and, noting its spectacular reviews, I decided to buy the DVD. Great purchase. A wonderful story which starts with Li as a small child in a very poor village in China being selected to attend Madam Mao's Dance Academy in Beijing and follows him to a exchange student scholarship position with the Houston Ballet years later. At the Dance Academy there is a tussle between forces wanting to teach traditional ballet and Mao's desire that a militaristic dance style be taught. Of course, Mao's influence wins out. Nevertheless, during a cultural exchange visit with China, the American-based English ballet director Ben Stevenson see Li's talent and obtains the exchange student position for him at the Houston Ballet. Li was only allowed to stay in the US by the Chinese government for three months, but those three months change everything. He is a committed communist when he arrives in the US, but he seems and learns things which cause him to question his communist upbringing. Li is a dancing sensation in the US and the dancer in the movie who played his part, Chi Can, is a winner. I am no connoisseur of ballet, but I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Buy it. A wonderful story of worldwide success in the face of almost overwhelming odds.

Inspirational, excellent film based on a true story of a young boy taken into the Communist ballet school in Beijing of Madame Mao who strives to excel in a dance form totally foreign to the children in these classes. The ballet master manages to inspire Li to learn the complicated ballet moves from his own story of an archer who lifted logs for one year to become strong enough to bend a bow. He is allowed to come to America for a summer class with the Houston Ballet Company where he falls in love with an American dancer and defects through marriage but endeavors to persuade the Chinese authorities to allow him to stay in America and not take retribution upon his family still in China. The Chinese attempt to kidnap him and return him to China but diplomacy intervenes and he is allowed to stay in Houston. Of course the Chinese will not allow him to return home EVER to see his family which he reluctantly accepts. I've always like Beresford's other films and this one is right up there with Breaker Morant and Driving Miss Daisy, etc. The dancer, Chi Cao of the Birmingham Royal Ballet is the mature Li and has won the Gold Medal of the international competition in Varna, Bulgaria and his dancing is just thrilling. The film is a well acted "documentary" based on Li's book about his life in China and in ballet. Oddly, his parents were teachers of ballet and Chi Cao one of their students. Li chose him to act his life in the movie which was certainly appropriate. Joan Chen is wonderful as his mother - all the acting was very good and believable. I felt the bargain price of Amazon's Prime offering a MUST HAVE THIS IN MY BALLET COLLECTION. I've shown it to friends who are not ballet fans and they have all loved it!! Many people who have not been exposed to great ballet dancing are often amazed at the required athletic ability. Those who know of ballet appreciate Chi Cao's artistic accomplishments and enjoy the dance sequences very much. The dance excerpts are quite short in nature but fit into the movie exactly right. Kudos to the creative artists and crew involved in the making of this film. A pure joy to watch - don't miss the significance of the final lift at the end of the film. The culture clashes are well presented and the change in China's society quite remarkable in a short period of time. The story is set in the 70's and 80's - China today is a much different place and all the better for it. Ballet fan or not - this is a terrific film and so enjoyable for the entire family. The movie is just wonderful!!

Beautiful dancing….moving screen play…,fabulous dancing…good acting!!…:)

While so much attention was being focused on "Black Swan," a truly splendid movie about ballet was being virtually ignored in the U.S. The movie is "Mao's Last Dancer," based on the life of dancer Li Cunxin. The film tells of his early years growing up in one of those repressive communes that dotted China's landscape during Mao's reign of terror. Selected for the Beijing ballet, Li trains himself to be a technically "perfect" dancer, and gains party approval for his performances in politically saturated ballets glorifying the Red revolution. But when Li is permitted to travel to Houston as a guest artist, he discovers a whole new world that puts him at odds with his Communist background. The film goes on to record his successes in the U.S., his marriage to an American dancer, the attempt of the Chinese embassy to kidnap and return him to China, and more. If you think you know where this film is going, you haven't given it enough credit for providing unexpecteed twists and turns. The cast is uniformly first-rate, especially Chi Cao (as Li) who is superb as actor and dancer. Director Bruce Beresford handles the narrative masterfully. The musical score by Christopher Gordon combines Eastern and Western music; in itself it is worth the price of admission. The dance sequences are spectacular. If you've never seen "Mao's Last Dancer," you owe it to yourself to discover this multi-faceted gem.

Film meets all expectations, very good movie

This is a film I missed seeing on cinema release and was recommended to me by a friend. However, having bought this DVD, I still haven't seen it. Why? Because I ignored the product description of "Partly English Only" - or rather, I assumed that there would be English subtitles for the Mandarin scenes. I'm quite used to (and enjoy) watching subtitled films, and expected that this DVD would have contained English subs, even though it clearly states in the description "Swedish". In fact it contains Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic subs. But not English :( As I don't speak any of the Scandi languages, I'll have to find a friend who does and pass on this DVD to them. Ah well...

The video is fine but I do wish that it did not have previews of other movies on it.

C'est un très bon film. La livraison a été très rapide.

Great film, with excellent dancing, about an art considered decadent in an ideal communist society.Eventually the artist is recognized and celebrated both outside and within China.

Although the story line is perhaps embelished, it is very inspiring to see how determination and love can sometimes overcome the worst situation (especially when international politics get in the way). And very well executed ballet dancing.