Mao's Last Dancer. Super film!

Hi guys and gals,

First off..I am really stoked. My blog got almost 100 hits yesterday. Six new countries! Including Spain, France and Romania.

A departure for me, I am now a movie critic. In a single word, I found Mao's Last Dancer "fantastic!"

On further reading of the autobio of the main character ,Li Cunxin, the movie takes some liberties. (Like one marriage that never happened and two trips to the USA) Nevertheless , for me the story is compelling.

The true story is the heartening rags-to-riches story of Li, who achieved prominence on the international ballet stage. Born in 1961, just before the Cultural Revolution, Li was raised in extreme rural poverty and witnessed Communist brutality, yet he imbibed a reverence for Mao and his programs. In a twist of fate worthy of a fairy tale (or a ballet), Li, at age 11, was selected by delegates from Madame Mao's arts programs to join the Beijing Dance Academy. In 1979, through the largesse of choreographer and artistic director Ben Stevenson, he was selected to spend a summer with the Houston Ballet—the first official exchange of artists between China and America since 1949. Li's visit, with its taste of freedom, made an enormous impression on his perceptions of both ballet and of politics, and once back in China, Li lobbied persistently and shrewdly to be allowed to return to America. Miraculously, he prevailed in getting permission for a one-year return. In an April 1981 spectacle that received national media attention, Li defected in a showdown at the Chinese consulate in Houston. He married fellow dancer Mary McKendry and gained international renown as a principal dancer with the Houston Ballet and later with the Australian Ballet; eventually, he retired from dance to work in finance. Despite Li's tendency toward the cloying and sentimental, his story will appeal to an audience beyond Sinophiles and ballet aficionados—it provides a fascinating glimpse of the history of Chinese-U.S. relations and the dissolution of the Communist ideal.

The movie exaggerates a bit of course, but the humanity of Li, his teachers, his parents and his American sponsors is admirable. I will not give away the last scene, but it brought uncontrolled tears to my eyes and most in the audience. This is a film that has been panned by many critics but loved by the limited audiences who have seen it. When the movie ended, most in the audience applauded. All of those I know who have seen the film loved it. I expect word of mouth will make this a winner.

BTW, the movie coincided with my listening to Rob Gifford's "China Road" . Rob took off on a "Jack Kerouac-like" journey across China a couple of years ago and his account of the people and places gave me a background that made the movie all the more enjoyable.

Don't miss this one. Here is the trailer:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/maoslastdancer/