I should have trusted my instinct and avoided this movie based on the title. I pictured some sort of feel good propaganda capable of passing Chinese censorship.
Li Cunxin a Chinese ballet dancer catches the eye of Ben Stevenson the Houston ballet director who is touring China in the 1970s. Ben brings him to the US as a student and makes him a star. Li marries and defects. In the end he is reunited with his family and makes a glorious visit to his homeland with his second wife. In the final scene he and his wife (also a ballet dancer) freeze in the cliché triumphant glory pose (arms together pointing to infinity) of Chinese opera. It is sickening.
Another reviewer said this was paint by numbers for the masses-- Basically accurate. It made millions at the box office. Every cliché known to the genre is in this thing....the sudden need to replace the lead dancer hours before curtain call. The wise sage teacher who supplies the magic anecdotal encouragement to motivate a discouraged student. This is an autobiography--where are the negatives that would make this guy human? The excessive ambition maybe a few dirty tricks he regrets--none of that.
I personally hate movies that throw up signs on how the viewer is supposed to feel and think every 10 seconds.
The acting directing and story is cheesy (overdone inauthentic exaggerated) Ben Stevenson (Bruce Greenwood) gets an F for unconvincing gay mannerisms he should have studied Paul Lynn.
One flaw of Netflix Streaming is you cannot fast forward...however with about an hour to go I began to skip ahead 5 minutes at a time-- it is that bad.
DO NOT RECOMMEND
Li Cunxin a Chinese ballet dancer catches the eye of Ben Stevenson the Houston ballet director who is touring China in the 1970s. Ben brings him to the US as a student and makes him a star. Li marries and defects. In the end he is reunited with his family and makes a glorious visit to his homeland with his second wife. In the final scene he and his wife (also a ballet dancer) freeze in the cliché triumphant glory pose (arms together pointing to infinity) of Chinese opera. It is sickening.
Another reviewer said this was paint by numbers for the masses-- Basically accurate. It made millions at the box office. Every cliché known to the genre is in this thing....the sudden need to replace the lead dancer hours before curtain call. The wise sage teacher who supplies the magic anecdotal encouragement to motivate a discouraged student. This is an autobiography--where are the negatives that would make this guy human? The excessive ambition maybe a few dirty tricks he regrets--none of that.
I personally hate movies that throw up signs on how the viewer is supposed to feel and think every 10 seconds.
The acting directing and story is cheesy (overdone inauthentic exaggerated) Ben Stevenson (Bruce Greenwood) gets an F for unconvincing gay mannerisms he should have studied Paul Lynn.
One flaw of Netflix Streaming is you cannot fast forward...however with about an hour to go I began to skip ahead 5 minutes at a time-- it is that bad.
DO NOT RECOMMEND