MaestroReviews

Deb and I are artists, painters actually. We go see films as often as once a week. That's right, we go to the theater and sit in a dark room with strangers to see movies. We rarely rent. We like "little" movies, foreign and documentary films. We try to stay away from mainstream and blockbusters whenever possible, but a couple sneak in each year. We seek out the obscure. We try to avoid violent movies, and that really limits our choices, most film makers seem to think violence makes a story interesting.
I try not to give anything away in the reviews, but offer an honest reaction.
We rate them 1~10, 10 being highest.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Mao’s Last Dancer

Deb 8 Me 8

We both had some trepidation about this one. Deb because she thought it would be like Dancing Across Borders and me ‘cause I thought it sounded like Le Concert. It turns out to be its own movie and it’s pretty darn good.

The dancing in Dancer is ballet dancing. Something I know very little about and therefore have little appreciation for. That’s over. I’m blown away by what these cats can do with their bodies, and not in a clean and jerk motion, but smooth like flying. And the movie explores what it takes to get to that point, I really dug it.

Another thing I know little about and therefore have little appreciation for is China, where the movie has its origins. I know they make crappy products, own our debt and have no parallels to our view of civil rights, but the movie is sort of a sales pitch overtone that says things are a lot better now than under Mao’s influence. Still, no place I want to visit.

But the movie was terrific. It’s based on a real life guy, I have no idea how accurate it is, but it’s interesting as hell. The things this cat goes through in life, some of his own volition, some totally beyond his control, it makes for a good story.

It’s a very good looking movie. There were a few shots that were a bit digital looking, but they were very minor. Great music too. But I really was sold on the beauty of ballet.

When we left the theater I was happy about the movie, in subsequent conversations I found I had misunderstood one of the scenes and it changed the whole end of the film (in my misguided eyes). When I found out what really happened, I liked the movie even better. So if you run across a stumbling block, you’re not alone. But either way you see the movie, see the movie.

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