“Veteran Australian director Bruce Beresford’s new film, “Mao’s Last Dancer,” feels almost like a remake of the equally heart-warming “Billy Elliot,” but this time around, what the aspiring, “Rocky”-like, against-all-odds dancer is escaping is not working-class ignorance and poverty, but hardline Chinese communist officials.
Like most films in this underdog genre, the emotional manipulation of the audience is constant and obvious. Beresford, the director of “Breaker Morant” and “Driving Miss Daisy” (which won four Oscars, including best picture), knows exactly what he is doing at every moment, and most viewers will be more than happy to go along for the ride.
Distributors and programmers who are looking for a film that will move audiences, rather than deeply probe the meaning of life, should give “Mao’s Last Dancer” a serious look. This is the kind of film that critics may look down on but go on to win audience awards at festivals (and, presumably, make money at the box office).”
The Hollywood Reporter

“Bruce Beresford’s handsome movie version captures the epic simplicity of Li’s story — astonishing luck coupled with a fierce determination — and stirs strong primal emotions about love of family, country, personal freedom…Sardi and Beresford marshal this rich material with precision, treating it as a ‘hero journey’, a mythic tale of victory over impossible odds… The film is a must for ballet-lovers and a strong arthouse contender… Cao, Chinese-born-and-trained Principal Dancer of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, leaps, soars and spins just as brilliantly as the movie requires.”
Screen International