Mao's Last Dancer. Photo / Supplied
Rating: 2/5
Verdict: Nice dancing
It's something of an irony that this film should be as wooden, formulaic and literal-minded as the improving Communist entertainment that, at one point, it implicitly criticises.
Expatriate Australian director Beresford, who hasn't made a really good film since Mister Johnson in 1990, adapts the autobiography of a Chinese dancer
who sought a new life in the West. But the script (by Jan Sardi, who wrote the David Helfgott biopic Shine) drains all the dramatic life from what must have been a compelling story.
The journey of Li Cunxin (Chi Cao) from rural boyhood to star of the Houston Ballet is narrated in such boilerplate fashion that you can virtually hear the pieces clicking into place: see Li being indoctrinated by party hacks; see hatchet-faced party official lambasting ballet's lack of political content; see Li resisting American consumerism.
This leaden, expository approach robs the film of any momentum, which is doubly regrettable since it's the story of a man so light on his feet. But it probably doesn't help when the main man, who had to be chosen for his dancing skills, is a first-time actor.
Things pick up a bit in the second half during a fascinating diplomatic stand-off in which MacLachlan excels as an immigration lawyer. And there is no denying the sublime quality of the on-stage ballet sequences which are filmed with sparing use of cutaways, so we get the full force of the performance.
But there is not much here to grab a moviegoer who isn't already fascinated by Li's story.
Cast: Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Amanda Schull, Kyle MacLachlan Director: Bruce Beresford
Running time: 117 mins
Rating: PG In English and Mandarin with English subtitles
