Mao's Last Dancer

Reviewed by Simi Horwitz

August 20, 2010


Based on Li Cunxin's best-selling autobiography, "Mao's Last Dancer" is an emotionally compelling film about a peasant boy from China and his meteoric rise to international stardom as a world-class ballet dancer. During Mao Tse-tung's regime, Li is tapped by the Chinese government to study ballet in Beijing. Brutally separated from his family and enduring endless hours of torturous practice, he endeavors to define himself in his new world. But thanks to a teacher's encouragement and an unexpected chance to dance in America with the Houston Ballet, Li discovers himself through his love for dance and quest for freedom. It's also a story about the joys of celebrity and the pain of exile.

Three actors play Li at various stages of his life, though the bulk of the film takes place in his adulthood. Chi Cao, who tackles the adult role, is splendid. The Chinese-born Cao is a principal dancer with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and the film marks his acting debut, which makes his performance all the more impressive. He has a remarkably expressive face and is able to convey a keen intelligence and a range of conflicting emotions simultaneously. Li's relationship with his first wife, Elizabeth (Amanda Schull), is subtle and ambiguous. He loves her, but his love, at least in part, stems from his need for an American wife. His defection is thrilling and agonizing. He knows he will never see his family again.

Schull's performance should have resonance for any artist who is at a standstill while his or her partner's career soars. Schull evokes the frustrated dancer recognizing that her husband's talents and prospects tower over hers. Her unhappy circumstances are further complicated by her heartfelt love for Li, coupled with her suspicion that she is for him a conduit to American citizenship.

Joan Chen is lovely as Li's sensitive mother, whose understanding of life belies her impoverished roots and illiteracy. As Ben Stevenson, artistic director of the Houston Ballet, Bruce Greenwood is every bit the sophisticated artist and administrator who is committed to Li as a fellow dancer and human being, yet realizes how much it will cost to violate the rules of the game.

There are moments that feel a tad too theatrical—indeed, manipulative and contrived. Yet for the most part Jan Sardi's skillful script and Bruce Beresford's tight direction forge a film that grabs you from the opening sequence and doesn't let go.

Genre: Drama. Written by: Jan Sardi. Directed by: Bruce Beresford. Starring: Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Kyle MacLachlan, Joan Chen, Amanda Schull.
 
 
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