But for Li, who was taken from his isolated village as a child and has
spent his entire life training to be both a dancer and a communist, it
isn't until he finds love that he discovers that the West has too much
on offer to resist. With the help of a few friends, he
announces that he won't be returning to China - which is a nice idea in
theory, but in practice the Chinese government doesn't just let it's
prized dancers walk out the door.
Now living in Australia (and
married to a former member of the Australia ballet), Cunxin's memoir
has been a best-seller, and director Bruce Beresford has turned it into
a solid, competent film that ticks all the boxes but only rarely leaps
into life.
Surprisingly, it is the largely dance-free
scenes in China covering Cunxin's early life that are the most visually
stunning and dramatically compelling moments in the film.
In
contrast, Texas is ugly (it is hard to know whether the cheap look
comes from budget costs or a totally accurate representation of the
era's now-dated look), predictable, and populated by Australians
putting on bad accents.
It falls on Cao to hold the film
together with a consistently convincing performance – a performance
that is made all the more impressive when combined with a string of
breath taking dance numbers that make this sometimes blunt and
occasionally clumsy effort rewarding viewing. DVD Special Features
The preview disc we recieved didn't contain any extras - however,
with $14M Australian Box Office dollars under it's belt, you can safely
bet on a Special Edition hitting shelves around Christmas time!
Conclusion:
Movie 70% Extras: N/A
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