Mao's Last Dancer
2009 · Movie · PG · 117 min · ★ 6.6 · 56% critics
A boy from a poor rural village is chosen to train in ballet at a strict state academy, where discipline and politics shape daily life. Years later, a cultural exchange trip to Texas opens his eyes to a new world, bringing love, opportunity, and a difficult choice about where he can build his future.
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Details
- Original title
- Mao’s Last Dancer
- Years
- 2009
- Release date
- 2009-10-01
- Language
- English
- Rated
- PG
- Runtime
- 117 min
- Max quality
- HD
- Critic score
- 56/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.6/10 (122 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want an uplifting, emotional true-story drama that mixes culture clash, romance, and plenty of ballet performances; Not for you if you dislike sentimental biopics or prefer nonstop intensity like The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
Pros: inspiring true-life journey; strong performances; beautiful dance sequences | Cons: predictable biopic beats; sometimes melodramatic; a bit too long
Themes
- dance
- dancer
- village
- ballet dancer
- rags to riches
- based on true story
- promise
- ballet
- communism
Awards & recognition
- AACTA Award — Best Original Music Score · 2009
- AACTA Award — Best Production Design · 2009 · nominated
- AACTA Award — Best Costume Design · 2009 · nominated
- AACTA Award — Best Film · 2009 · nominated
- AACTA Award — Best Editing · 2009 · nominated
Show all 9 awards →
- AACTA Award — Best Sound · 2009 · nominated
- AACTA Award — Best Adapted Screenplay · 2009 · nominated
- AACTA Award — Best Direction · 2009 · nominated
- AACTA Award — Best Original Music Score · 2009 · nominated
Cast & crew
Amanda Schull
as Elizabeth Mackey
Chi Cao
as Li Cunxin - adult
- CG
Chengwu Guo
as Li Cunxin - teenage
- WH
Wen Bin Huang
as Li Cunxin - boy
Joan Chen
as Niang
Bruce Greenwood
as Ben Stevenson
Kyle MacLachlan
as Charles Foster
Jack Thompson
as US Federal Judge
- CV
Camilla Vergotis
as Mary McKendry
- ME
Madeleine Eastoe
as Lori
Directed by Bruce Beresford