Movie Review

Mao's Last Dancer

by Yebin Seo (Danielle)

This is the official trailer of the movie, Mao's Last Dancer.
Here's my review ;


'Mao's last dancer' is the movie made in 2009. It's based on a true story about the Chinese ballerina who went to the USA. Li was trained to be the ballerina for the Chinese revolution. However, Li didn't like ballet very much. Actually, he just wanted to go home and live with his family. One day, Li me Mr. Chen who had a very big influence on him. Mr. Chen inspired Li to 'like' ballet. In my opinion , Li is very lucky to meet that kind of teacher. Mr. Chen literally changed Li's life. If he hadn't met him, Li would have just stayed in China.

So I think it is important to meet at least one inspiring person in your life. To me, it's Ms. Hori. Ms. Hori was my homeroom teacher when I was in 4th grade. At the beginning of the lesson, she gave students some works to do, and the one who finished them could play. Before I met her, I wasn't actually good at studying. My grade was just an average or even below the average. But I changed. I became the Top-student. You know why? Because I wanted to play so much. Everyday, I worked really hard on assignments. Ms. Hori is the teacher who made the below-average student to the top student. There is one more thing that I respect about her. One day, she was away because she had some business going on. On her desk, there was this cute little notebook, so I peeked inside ^^;; Surprisingly, she rote everything down about every students! I was so shocked. From that day, I became a very good student.

I've talked about how Ms. Hori inspired me like Mr. Chen inspired Li. Li also became the ballet-lover and practised harder and harder after he met Mr. Chen. I was quite amazed by him. There's no wonder that he finally went to the USA. I was happy that one teacher could realise how hardworking and honest Li is.
Also scenes in which Li was confused by the difference between China and USA was so funny. He was like '???'. *^^* And when he danced, I felt like I was falling into ballet's charm. Every moves and steps were graceful and strong at the same time. However, those happy days soon come to an end. And there comes the day for the big decision that Li must make. Would he stay in the USA or go back to China. If he goes back to China, he'd be celebrated and can meet his family. But he would never be able to dance freely again. And if he stays in the USA, it's the opposite. When the Chinese governor mentioned his family, I thought Li would decide to go back to China. I was could taken aback and was also relieved when I knew that Li wasn't going back. I think he made a good choice. It's true that he could never see his family again. And who knows? They might die. But I would rather live my life then going back to China. Even if Li goes back to China, what can he do? He would dance like a paper-doll, and his life would be miserable. His family is also going to be sad because Li is not happy and depressed. So I think it was the best choice he could make. And fortunately, Li did get to see his family in China. I was happy for them. It was so heart-touching.

In this movie, there was a part, in which taught me a very important lesson. There was a scene, in which showed one teacher telling a story about a frog in a well to Li. It was when Li was still in China. I think the teacher meant to say 'This is not the whole world.' At the time, Li was a frog in the well. He was caged. He had to see the other parts too. So the lesson the story taught me is that the world you live in is not the whole world. I'm only seeing the small part of the world. I have to open my eyes and see the world. To me, it was a very helpful lesson.

After watching this movie, I cried. This movie was not typical sad movie because it did have a happy ending. If I am to rate this movie, I would give  8.5 stars out of 10 stars. The movie was well organised and also successfully carried its message. However, it didn't make a clear point about Li's first wife, Elizabeth. She just drove away. I'm not sure if I understand that part. Other than that, the movie was great. I would gladly recommend this movie. I hope other people would enjoy this movie, too!