47
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleEven filmgoers who aren't into dance will find this story captivating because, as much as anything, Sokvannara wants to please his audience, whether in the concert hall or the movie theater. The kid is a natural.
- 60Time OutS. James SnyderTime OutS. James SnyderAn illuminating profile but a sloppy snapshot of the immigrant experience.
- Dancing lacks probing interviews to highlight the tremendous cultural change, but Sy remains an engaging focus point and there are numerous performance sequences that ably demonstrate his growing accomplishments.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceWe get white folks ruminating lyrically on the peasant Asian's role as a kind of grand jeté bridge between East and West, and long performance sequences that are dazzling to behold but quite troubling to contemplate.
- 50The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisOffered only hints of life away from the barre or of Sy’s relationship with his coolly poised benefactress, viewers will see either a very fortunate young man or a beautiful protégé, dancing as fast as he can to please everyone but himself.
- 50New York PostV.A. MusettoNew York PostV.A. MusettoIt would have been nice to learn as much about Sar the man as about Sar the dancer.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckA dramatic story, to be sure, but not exactly grippingly told by its first-time filmmaker.
- 50VarietyRonnie ScheibVarietyRonnie ScheibDancing Across Borders, Anne Bass' uneven docu debut, traces the fortunes of Cambodian ballet dancer Sokvannara "Sy" Sar from the time Bass first discovered him performing traditional temple dances at Angkor Wat to his conquests on the world stage.
- 50Boston GlobeWesley MorrisBoston GlobeWesley MorrisWell-meant though it may be, the movie has an advertorial gloss.
- 40New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierInformative and flavorful, though lacking in surprise.