Movie·2009·1h 57m
Mao’s Last Dancer
Before you can fly, you have to be free.
Directed By
Bruce Beresford
Country
Australia
Language
Mandarin
✦CineAI Pitch
Why watch this?
Tap below for a spoiler-free 3-bullet take.
// overview
The Story
At the age of 11, Li was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet. In 1979, during a cultural exchange to Texas, he falls in love with an American woman. Two years later, he managed to defect and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet.
Written By
Jan Sardi
Producer
Troy Lum, Jane Scott
Cinematography
Peter James
Editor
Mark Warner
Themes
Production House
Audience Score
123 votes
Where to watch
Region: USStream
· 2 services
Free
· 1 service
With Ads
· 4 services
Streaming data via JustWatch / TMDB. Click a provider to open in TMDB.
// cast
Cast
Amanda Schull
Elizabeth Mackey
Chi Cao
Li Cunxin - adult
Chengwu Guo
Li Cunxin - teenage
Wen Bin Huang
Li Cunxin - boy
Joan Chen
Niang
Bruce Greenwood
Ben Stevenson
Kyle MacLachlan
Charles Foster
Jack Thompson
US Federal Judge
Camilla Vergotis
Mary McKendry
Madeleine Eastoe
Lori
Steven Heathcote
Bobby Cordner
Aden Young
Dilworth
Wang Shuangbao
Barbara Bush
Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)
George H. W. Bush
Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Mao Zedong
Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bruce Greenwood
Kip Gamblin
David
// crew
Crew
Bruce Beresford
Director
Jan Sardi
Screenplay
Troy Lum
Executive Producer
Jane Scott
Producer
Peter James
Director of Photography
Mark Warner
Editor
// more like this
You Might Like
Film6.9Dunkirk
1958
Dunkirk
1958
Film7.2Antarctica
1983
Antarctica
1983
Film6.9Dance with Me
1998
Dance with Me
1998
Film7.0Oliver!
1968
Oliver!
1968
Film7.1Sea of Time
2022
Sea of Time
2022
Film5.9The Gray Man
2007
The Gray Man
2007
Film7.7A Million Miles Away
2023
A Million Miles Away
2023
Film7.6The Banker
2020
The Banker
2020
Film8.2Tokyo Story
1953
Tokyo Story
1953
Film6.9Reds
1981
Reds
1981
Film6.2Niki
2024
Niki
2024
Film4.9Sakhavu
2017
Sakhavu
2017