Mao's Last Dancer

Billy Elliot meets The Last Emperor in this sweeping adaptation of Chinese dancer Li Cunxin's titular memoir. Plucked from his peasant parents' (Joan Chen, Wang Shuangbao) home in an impoverished village in Shandong Province by communist officials as part of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, young Li (played by Wen Bin Huang, Chengwu Guo, and Chi Cao as the character ages) is sent to Madame Mao's ballet school in Beijing. Determined to bring pride to his family, Li embraces the strict discipline and is granted the rare privilege of continuing his dance studies in the U.S. Arriving in Texas in an exchange program, he experiences culture shock but adjusts quickly, even falling in love with another dancer (Amanda Schull). Surprising his host/guardian, Ben Stevenson (Bruce Greenwood), artistic director of the Houston Ballet, Li decides to defect, hiring an astute attorney (Kyle MacLachlan), and becoming embroiled in a political, emotional, and ethical conflict that means sacrificing all hope of ever seeing his mother and father again. Australian director Bruce Beresford brings characteristic energy to this true story, which features soaring dance sequences staged by choreographer Graeme Murphy. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (20 min.) and trailers. Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for a winning film.] (S. Granger)