Who else is pumped for Mao's Last Dancer?

[tooironic]

I can't wait! I loved the book so much. Unfortunately this will give me high expectations for the movie, but it can't be helped. I've only seen a short trailer, and interestingly they've avoided showing any Chinese whatsoever. I hope this doesn't mean that the entire movie is in English. :o

Anyway, it comes out in a few days here in Australia. Everyone post their impressions here!

[op108]

Watching the theatrical trailer, I thought it was a rare Hollywood portrayal of oppressed affection between a Chinese guy and a white woman. It was to my disappointment when I learnt it ended up a failed short-lived marriage in the protagonist's real life. There is a narrative of his early life in rural China. It would be awkward if it were entirely in English, with even peasants speaking a foreign language fluently.

[tooironic]

At The Movies are reviewing it tonight. No doubt they'll post their review, trailer, etc (maybe interviews too?) on their site: http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies.

[PhilipLean]

Review Text and video clips http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2671834.htm

[rob07]

The trailer seemed to be selling it almost solely as the story of the struggle to escape an oppressive dictatorship, which turned me off it a bit. This was a part of the story of course, but his relationship with his family and his struggle to achieve artistic mastery were more important I thought and there not much about that in the trailer. Hopefully the full movie will do the story justice.

I remember seeing the Chinese translation in bookstores, has anyone read it? I wonder how they handled the struggle to escape an oppressive dictatorship angle in the translation. I heard that, unsurprisingly, it sold badly in China.

Li Cunxin spoke at a retreat for the senior people at work a while back. They said that every year they have a speaker who is normally boring, but Li was different, really inspirational.

[ozlight]

I watched it last night! It portrays Cuixin the dancer, and how this ambitious young man overcame the hardship and chose his way of life determinedly. The movie also reflects the changes in China from 1970s to1990s. Highly recommend it!

I wouldn't call it a finely made movie, as some of the characters are not fully developed, making me as an audience wondering about what had happened to those characters later on. However, the story is intense, the acting is quite good, especially Joan Chan's part, plus the dance is really fantastic!