Mao's Last Dancer

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Mao's Last Dancer

PG,

2010,

1h 57m,

Biography/

Drama

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Watchlist

55%

75 Reviews

Tomatometer

76%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

55%

Tomatometer

75 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

The ballet life of Li Cunxin begins when he was 11, taken from his peasant family in rural China to train in Beijing, and he defects to the United States as a cultural exchange student as a young man.

Critics Consensus

Mao's Last Dancer has a stirring story to tell, but excessive sentimentality and leaden pacing keep this biopic from hitting its marks gracefully.

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Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Oct 12, 2010

C-

Woefully creaky and corny.

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Jonathan F. Richards

Film.com

Sep 21, 2010

Bruce Beresford's biopic of Li Cunxin, the Chinese ballet dancer who defected while on a student visa in Houston in 1981, is sometimes the movie equivalent of Oscar Meyer cold cuts. But the dancing is pure caviar.

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Peter Brunette

The Hollywood Reporter

Sep 10, 2010

Feel-good movie about a Chinese dancer presses all the right buttons.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Jul 19, 2022

Biography in pas de deux. [Full review in Spanish]

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Jana Monji

Age of the Geek

Aug 14, 2021

4/5

This is an inspiring, sensitive look at a man who rose through chance and determination and gave up everything for a brief career center stage as a principal ballet dancer in America and then Australia.

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Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Sep 15, 2020

2.5/4.0

It's easy to understand why Sardi compresses the story, however, the compression leaves the film's dramatic arc at times feeling rushed.

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Finn S

Sep 30, 2018

Very emotionally poignant story and beautiful dancing throughout. Ballet is not a style of dance that you see very often nowadays. Realistic portrayal of historical events, what China was like in the 1970s, and the differences between Chinese and American cultures.

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Leia W

Aug 5, 2018

Based on a true story about ballet dancer Li Cunxin, the screenplay does not fall into holes like other biographies with happy go lucky events. A true story where struggles can both make a person stronger, but then also vulnerable. Kudos to the actors who helped with the flow of the film as none overacted or were miscast. Nice scenery and brilliant photography elevates this film into a feast for the eyes. A must see.

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Bruce Beresford

Director

Bruce Greenwood

Ben Stevenson

Kyle MacLachlan

Charles Foster

Joan Chen

Niang

Chi Cao

Li Cunxin

Amanda Schull

Liz

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Synopsis

The ballet life of Li Cunxin begins when he was 11, taken from his peasant family in rural China to train in Beijing, and he defects to the United States as a cultural exchange student as a young man.

Director: Bruce Beresford
Producer: Jane Scott
Screenwriter: Jan Sardi
Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Company
Production Co: Great Scott Productions Pty. Ltd.
Rating: PG (Incidental Smoking|A Brief Violent Image|Language|Some Sensuality)
Genre: Biography, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 20, 2010, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.8M
Runtime: 1h 57m

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