Mao's Last Dancer (2009)

In Maoist China, a boy is taken from his family and trained to become a dancer, but everything he knows is challenged when he is chosen to attend a ballet summer school in Houston, Texas.

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers:

Jan Sardi (screenplay), Cunxin Li (autobiography)

Stars:

Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan

6 wins & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chi Cao	...	Li - as an adult
Bruce Greenwood	...	Ben Stevenson
Penne Hackforth-Jones	...	Cynthia Dodds
Christopher Kirby	...	Mason (as Chris Kirby)
Suzie Steen	...	Betty Lou
Madeleine Eastoe	...	Lori
Aden Young	...	Dilworth
Wen Bin Huang	...	Li - as a child
Shu Guang Liang	...	Jing Tring - 8 yrs
Ye Wang	...	Cunfar - 14 yrs
Neng Neng Zhang	...	Gong Mei
Wan Shi Xu	...	Shen Yu
Shao Wei Yi	...	Yang Ping
Hui Cong Zhan	...	Teacher Song
Ji Feng Sun	...	Headmaster

Storyline

A drama based on the autobiography by Li Cunxin. At the age of 11, Li was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet. In 1979, during a cultural exchange to Texas, he fell in love with an American woman. Two years later, he managed to defect and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet.

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Plot Keywords:

windchime | letter writing | watching a movie | federal bureau of investigation | looking at oneself in a mirror | 

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Taglines:

Before You Can Fly You Have To Be Free.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for a brief violent image, some sensuality, language and incidental smoking

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

1 October 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

El prodigio

Filming Locations:

Acer Arena, Olympic Boulevard, Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

AUD 2,754,617 (Australia), 4 October 2009, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$199,657, 22 August 2010, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,806,750, 5 December 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Great Scott Productions Pty. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joan Chen and Cunxin Li share similar experiences in life: both were born in 1961, they were picked at a young age to pursue an artistic career and they both came to the United States in 1981.

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Goofs

The film does not show Houston as it was 1981-86. For instance, when Cunxin first arrives in Houston, he and Stevenson drive past a Ferris Wheel, which did not exist in 1981. Many of the buildings were not there either. In addition, the Wortham Center was not complete until 1987. From 1969 to 1987, the Houston Ballet danced in Jones Hall, which is still in use for many other performances. However the Director may have chosen Wortham considering it architecturally and environmentally more grand, and timing off by only a year. Beresford may not have considered the environs of Jones Hall as attractive. There may have also been time and budget constraints on researching old photos of downtown, using CGI, etc.

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Quotes

Li - as an adult: Big... big house, Ben. Um... you have a big family?

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Connections

Featured in Huckabee: Episode dated 25 September 2010 (2010)

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Soundtracks

Superfreak
Written and performed by Rick James

User Reviews

Not your average dance film.

Diane and I saw this excellent movie at Paradiso in Northbridge two days ago and we both were entranced by the beauty and sensitivity of Mao's Last Dancer. I admit that I was none too anxious about seeing this film about dancing but after the opening scenes in rural China and a quick cut to Li Cunxin and early dance years and I had become a total fan of the movie. Beresford's direction married to the acting and dancing ability of Chi Cao result in a movie about dance but that theme is only the canvas upon which this moving and quite dramatic story unfolds. The resulting movie is far, far more complex than I thought as I entered the theatre. Yes, of course, the ballet sequences are glorious to watch but this film, as I said, is not just about dancing. The script explores international politics, domestic trauma, family bonds, interpersonal tension and these are only my random memories. At the start of the film, I could not believe that so many hugely dramatic instances could flow from the life of a young man born into less than salubrious circumstances in rural China. There are many different scenes; Beresford edited the film in fast sequences and the total is amazingly complicated; I am in awe of such a complex life so richly lived. Put Mao's Last Dancer on your must-see list!