Featured Audience Ratings

• Megan S

  
  Not a repeat movie by any means. Some of the melodrama seemed over the top and out of place with his relationship with the girl.

• Cynthia S

  
  This is one of those must see based-on-a-true-story movies, even if you aren't into ballet. Beautiful. Entertaining. Inspiring.

• Jennifer X

  
  Oh my god, this is such a bad, melodramatic movie. I wanted to watch this because I thought it was a documentary, but Mao's Last Dancer couldn't be further from that.

• Nicki M

  
  Enjoyed watching it once, but don't think it is one I will be watching again. Acting is kind of bad, but I guess some of these were cast more for their dancing skills, which are excellent. I found it more interesting in modern day than the flashbacks, but it is okay, I guess.… More
  Enjoyed watching it once, but don't think it is one I will be watching again. Acting is kind of bad, but I guess some of these were cast more for their dancing skills, which are excellent. I found it more interesting in modern day than the flashbacks, but it is okay, I guess. It did seem to be a bit dumbed down for an American audience, (not sure if that is a fair comment or not), but I do watch quite a lot of foreign movies, and this to me seemed a bit lacking.

• Dean M

  
  The true story was deeply moving film and showed how disciplined a Chinese guy must be in order to become a great dancer. Li Cunxin is played magnificently by Chi Cao (as an adult) as well as Chengwu Guo (as a teenager). Chi Cao, a highly recognised ballerino in his own right, must… More
  The true story was deeply moving film and showed how disciplined a Chinese guy must be in order to become a great dancer. Li Cunxin is played magnificently by Chi Cao (as an adult) as well as Chengwu Guo (as a teenager). Chi Cao, a highly recognised ballerino in his own right, must receive the bulk of the accolades for what is truly a seamless breakthrough performance by a first time actor. The rest of the cast are also fantastic including Bruce Greenwood who plays the difficult and complex part of a slightly camp Ballet Director who must confront his own values.

• Byron B

  
  Fish out of water tale as Chi Cao playing Li Cunxin finds his way through the culture shock of moving from communist China to capitalist America. He grows up in regimented, propaganda filled, government controlled China in the 1970's. He is trained as a ballet dancer and in the… More
  Fish out of water tale as Chi Cao playing Li Cunxin finds his way through the culture shock of moving from communist China to capitalist America. He grows up in regimented, propaganda filled, government controlled China in the 1970's. He is trained as a ballet dancer and in the early 1980's he arrives in Texas to dance with the Dallas ballet. Lies are also an important theme of the story. The ballet segments are beautiful. However the plot seems rushed as so much time is condensed. The most inspiring parts of the story are quiet brief when Li's father tells him a tale about a frog and a toad and when Li's favorite teacher tells him about the archer. I felt like dance was given the focus at the exclusion of dramatic character development at times, but now thinking back on the movie I remember plenty of instances of dramatic conflict that will keep one interested as the movie progresses.

• Chihoe H

  
  "Mao's Last Dancer" chronicles the life of Li Cunxin who grew up during the heyday of China's Cultural Revolution in a poor rural village and was picked to join the Beijing Dance Academy. While in Houston on an exchange, he defected to America, leaving his family… More
  "Mao's Last Dancer" chronicles the life of Li Cunxin who grew up during the heyday of China's Cultural Revolution in a poor rural village and was picked to join the Beijing Dance Academy. While in Houston on an exchange, he defected to America, leaving his family and the life he had known behind, and eventually becoming a world-renown ballet dancer. The film got to me and I weeped, as did many people in the theatre. It also elicited plenty of responses from the audience throughout the film due to its depictions of society and politics in 1970s China, and the portrayal of a family torn apart and the perseverance and athleticism in training for ballet. If you plan on watching, prepare to be emotional by the end of it.

• Panta O

  
  I read all sorts of critics writting about this movie and most of them are concentrated analyzing Li as a person... well, I came to watch a movie and I enjoyed it. That was a smooth movie, with good acting and dancing, nice photography, strong hand directorship (as I'll expect… More
  I read all sorts of critics writting about this movie and most of them are concentrated analyzing Li as a person... well, I came to watch a movie and I enjoyed it. That was a smooth movie, with good acting and dancing, nice photography, strong hand directorship (as I'll expect from a movie about Chinese dancer) and a screenplay which was following the book the best possible way.

• Cinema F

  
  How do you distil the journey of a life that takes place over 25 years into a film that's well under two hours? Mao's Last Dancer is a biopic story of Li Cunxin's journey and his escape from peasant boy in Mao's Cultural Revolution to become a world famous… More
  How do you distil the journey of a life that takes place over 25 years into a film that's well under two hours? Mao's Last Dancer is a biopic story of Li Cunxin's journey and his escape from peasant boy in Mao's Cultural Revolution to become a world famous ballet dancer. Under Mao's communist regime Li 's chosen to become a student at the Beijing dance academy. In 1979, Li's picked in a cultural exchange by Houston Ballet's director Ben Stevenson (Bruce Greenwood) to train with them in Texas. In the US, he soon begins to find his niche in the ballet company. He falls for an aspiring dancer Liz (Amanda Schull) and decides to fight for his new-found freedom. I was told that the film was reduced from 680,000 words to 160,000 words, which could be a paintufl process for the author himself. Nevertheless, Mao's last Dancer is beautifully shot, particularly in it's dance sequences. Beresford uses a unique blend of live action and slow motion capture shots to fully encapsulate the performances. The ballet scenes are so well choreographed that they add a level of authenticity to the film. Inasmuch as the dialogue is delivered less convincingly than the pirouettes, it's rather easier to forgive overly earnest acting than it would've been to ignore clumsy dancing, particularly if you fancy going to the cinema to see the ballet. Those that have read the book may be a little reluctant to see the film, in fear that it will ruin their experience of the book. Maybe yes, maybe not. But I still believe that the film still strikes a chord. There's something deep within Li that makes his story quite compelling...

• Noah N

  
  'Mao's Last Dancer' (2010) is fascinating, beautiful, and a perfect movie to watch if you want your heart to fly.

• Daisy M

  
  Mao's Last Dancer was a true life story of ballet dancer, Lu Cunxin. The movie showed his youth, his education, his career path and the Communist China. An opportunity to complete his ballet studies in USA, with the Houston Ballet presented him another possibilities of life.… More
  Mao's Last Dancer was a true life story of ballet dancer, Lu Cunxin. The movie showed his youth, his education, his career path and the Communist China. An opportunity to complete his ballet studies in USA, with the Houston Ballet presented him another possibilities of life. Different stories of Lu's relationships with his family, his first ballet instructor, his first wife and his dance partner who later became his second wife were shown in a narrative way.The movie showed these relationship in more ways and made the results a deeply moving film. The heart breaking scene of his reunion with his parents just as he finished his last performance. were very emotional scenes that characterize this movie. The pacing was not bad, there was drama, but it did not dragged on that long.It managed to succeed good as true life story and very enjoyable to watch.

• Robert F

  
  Efficiently made and thoroughly engrossing.

Read all 12 featured audience ratings