Mao's Last Dancer

Only life can really write a story like this: young Chinese Li Cunxin (Chi Cao) was taken to the ballet academy in Beijing at the age of seven. After initially struggling with the harsh training conditions there, he has developed into one of the most talented dancers of his generation in the following years. In the early 1980s, Li Cunxin was given the unique opportunity to participate in a cultural exchange with the USA. In the company of Ben Stevenson (Bruce Greenwood) Li experiences a kind of devotion to dance and a freedom that has so far been denied him in his country. When he falls in love, he decides to stay in the US. But this wish cannot be fulfilled as easily as he imagines. Put under considerable pressure by his compatriots at the consulate, Li must make a grave decision that will have a significant impact not only on his life, but also on that of his family in China...

Director Bruce Beresford ("Miss Daisy and Her Chauffeur") brings to the screen "Mao's Last Dancer", a poignant blend of biography, dance film, drama and love story. Immersed in wonderful images and carried by great acting performances, Beresford has turned the poignant true story of Li Cunxin into quite great emotional cinema, which contains many great ballet sequences, but still can appeal not only dance lovers.

Particularly convincing is the performance of the celebrated dancer Chi Cao, who in his first major cinema role just can convince not only in the dance scenes, but also in the dramatic moments. Alongside experienced actors such as Kyle MacLachlan ("Twin Peaks", "Desperate Housewives"), Bruce Greenwood or even Joan Chen, Chi Cao can definitely hold his own.

Besides the good cast, it is also the wonderful camerawork and the dancer's life story told in the form of flashbacks that make this film so worth watching. Beresford has managed the feat of not watering down the biography, which was enormously successful as a book, in her film version, but rather staging it in a completely new language in a similarly poignant and captivating way as the book template. Therefore, if you appreciate visually powerful emotional cinema spiced with dance, drama and romance, you should not miss this film. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp