Mao's Last Dancer
At age eleven, Li Cunxin (Chi Cao, adult; Chengwu Guo, teen; Wen Bin Huang, child) was selected to leave his rural Chinese village to study ballet in Beijing. He later went to Houston for a cultural exchange, staying with ballet director Ben Stevenson (Bruce Greenwood). During his stay, he got to know Elizabeth Mackey (Amanda Schull). Toward the end of his scheduled time in Houston, he decided that he wanted to stay - but China wanted him back.
The film is directed by Bruce Beresford. The screenplay is adapted by Jan Sardi, based on the autobiography of the real-life Li Cunxin. The directing is good overall, and very good in most of the dance scenes. The screenplay is fair; the fact that it's a real life story may make it a bit more prone to being predictable, even if I didn't know the real-life story going in. The writing just doesn't seem to have a subtle hand when it comes to foreshadowing.
The acting is mostly good or very good. Chi Cao is good, and has to both act and perform the ballet. Bruce Greenwood is very good. Amanda Schull is mostly good. Joan Chen, Kyle MacLachlan, and Camilla Vergotis are good in their small roles. The other acting is generally good.
There's one scene in the film, featuring Chi Cao and Amanda Schull that falls particularly flat. I'm not sure how much is the fault of the screenplay, the directing, or the acting, but Schull is definitely off-pitch in the scene. It's a necessary point in the story, but it's not done well.
In spite of the predictability, the story is interesting - and the dance scenes are very engaging. Overall, I rate the film almost good.
Rating: The US rating of "PG" seems appropriate. IMDB says the rating is for "for a brief violent image, some sensuality, language and incidental smoking."
Screening: Wednesday 9:15 pm, Seattle north suburb (Crest).
Audience: About 15 people, about 250 seats.
Snacks: Popcorn.
Technical difficulties: The color on the film faded rather abruptly near the end, then the film halted. An alert sounded, presumably to summon the projectionist. Another theater employee announced that the projectionist was already at work on the problem, and that it shouldn't take long to resolve. I could hear the projectionist and someone else talking in the booth (which was strange; they're typically sound-insulated to confine the projector noise. One said something like, "It looks like static electricity pulled the film out of line, then it broke." The problem was resolved fairly soon, and the film was finished soon after that.
Ads (I forget the non-film ads and one of the films):
Comment: This was the SIFF 2010 selection for the opening night gala. I missed the film itself, but caught the party.
The film is directed by Bruce Beresford. The screenplay is adapted by Jan Sardi, based on the autobiography of the real-life Li Cunxin. The directing is good overall, and very good in most of the dance scenes. The screenplay is fair; the fact that it's a real life story may make it a bit more prone to being predictable, even if I didn't know the real-life story going in. The writing just doesn't seem to have a subtle hand when it comes to foreshadowing.
The acting is mostly good or very good. Chi Cao is good, and has to both act and perform the ballet. Bruce Greenwood is very good. Amanda Schull is mostly good. Joan Chen, Kyle MacLachlan, and Camilla Vergotis are good in their small roles. The other acting is generally good.
There's one scene in the film, featuring Chi Cao and Amanda Schull that falls particularly flat. I'm not sure how much is the fault of the screenplay, the directing, or the acting, but Schull is definitely off-pitch in the scene. It's a necessary point in the story, but it's not done well.
In spite of the predictability, the story is interesting - and the dance scenes are very engaging. Overall, I rate the film almost good.
Rating: The US rating of "PG" seems appropriate. IMDB says the rating is for "for a brief violent image, some sensuality, language and incidental smoking."
Screening: Wednesday 9:15 pm, Seattle north suburb (Crest).
Audience: About 15 people, about 250 seats.
Snacks: Popcorn.
Technical difficulties: The color on the film faded rather abruptly near the end, then the film halted. An alert sounded, presumably to summon the projectionist. Another theater employee announced that the projectionist was already at work on the problem, and that it shouldn't take long to resolve. I could hear the projectionist and someone else talking in the booth (which was strange; they're typically sound-insulated to confine the projector noise. One said something like, "It looks like static electricity pulled the film out of line, then it broke." The problem was resolved fairly soon, and the film was finished soon after that.
Ads (I forget the non-film ads and one of the films):
- Waiting for Superman - This documentary about education, by the makers of An Inconvenient Truth, looks like a real winner.
- Breathless - A 50th anniversary restoration of the Godard film looks good; the ad was good retro fun.
- Last Train Home - The ad tells us that roughly 350 million people in China travel home from their city jobs to their rural homes each Chinese New Year; the film focuses on a few of them.
Comment: This was the SIFF 2010 selection for the opening night gala. I missed the film itself, but caught the party.