Biopics are a tricky genre of film. Firstly, the person's life must be interesting enough to warrant a film based on it. Then, there's the scope: what years of this person's life and what events does the filmmaker focus on? Also, how much embellishment can be applied to the film while staying true to the life story? Mao's Last Dancer tells the tale of Li Cunxin (Chi as an adult, Guo Chengwu as a teenager, Huang Wenbin as a child), born into poverty in a Qingdao village, and at the age of 11 selected by Madame Mao's cultural advisers to enroll in her Beijing Dance Academy. He leaves his mother (Chen), father (Wang Shuangbao) There, he endures grueling hours and Communist brainwashing.
Li becomes one of the first Chinese dancers to go to America to study dance. He is hosted by the Houston Ballet's artistic director Ben Stevenson (Greenwood). At the last minute, Li is called in to replace the injured principal dancer in a performance of Don Quixote, with Vice-President George Bush one of the guests. Li's passionate dancing takes the community by storm.
Eventually, Li falls in love, with fellow dancer Elizabeth "Liz" Mackey (Amanda Schull). Li and Mackey rush their marriage so that the former may remain in the United States without defecting. An international incident unfolds as the Chinese Communist Party detains Li against his will in their Houston Consulate.
Cut off from his homeland and unable to return, Li continues to dance, but yearns to see his family once again. He gets the chance to perform at the Kennedy Centre in Washington DC, and two special guests to that performance bring his life full circle.
In many ways, Mao's Last Dancer is a textbook biopic. Li has lived an interesting-enough life. The film shuttles efficiently between his time in Houston and flashbacks to his past as a poor village boy and later student at the Beijing Dance Academy. The film is also based on Li's autobiography of the same name, so chances are it is very true to life.
Director Bruce Beresford, of Driving Miss Daisy fame, brings Li's remarkable story to life in sweeping fashion, with the scenes in the Qingdao village almost reminiscent of now-classic Chinese films like Not One Less. Li's time in the Beijing Dance Academy is also well-portrayed. In one striking scene, Madame Mao herself visits the school, and watches the students perform a European ballet. She then demands to see guns, politics and communist ideals. The students then emerge against a red background in communist uniforms, carrying guns, not so much dancing as marching, as Madame Mao looks on approvingly.
The film is a bit of an expose on Communist China under Mao Zedong, and will be an eye-opener for many viewers unfamiliar with that period in the country's history. Beresford is careful not to turn his film into an overly-political anti-communist spiel, keeping the focus square on Li Cunxin, but also addressing the brainwashing and hothousing, as well as the vilification of capitalism and "imperialism".
Mao's Last Dancer is definitely a tearjerker, but not in a superficial Marley and Me kind of way, where the Kleenex moments are painfully engineered. Here, themes such as love, family and personal identity take their place next to those of east meets west, international relations and political standings, and to marvelous effect.
A good cast is essential in bringing any biopic to life. Principal Dancer with the Birmingham Royal Ballet Chi Cao handles both the acting and the dancing laudably, especially considering that this is the professional dancer's first film role. Bruce Greenwood is always-dependable as an authority figure, given his pedigree as President in National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets and space captain in Star Trek. His warmth and kindness towards Li effectively contrast the coldness of the communist regime.
Joan Chen, often dubbed the "Meryl Streep of the East", eschews her normally-glamorous demeanor for the grubby face and hands of an honest hardworking farmer in rural Qingdao. Kyle McLachlan looks the part as a lawyer who sorts out Li's immigration woes and veteran Australian actor Jack Thompson cameos as a judge.
Li Cunxin's story is one that deserves to be told on screen, and fortunately, it is told well in a film equal parts artful and emotional, concise and beautiful.
