Reception
Shortly after the film's international premiere at the Pusan International Film Festival in October 2008, western critics seemed to have already ruled the film one of Zhang's lesser efforts. Indeed, early reviews from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter derided the film as "a notch down from best work" and "light on substance," respectively. Bloomberg News meanwhile called the film "o safe and sedate...that it's little surprise the film cleared Chinese censors without a single cut."
However, the same critics did find aspects of Dada's Dance worthy of praise. The lead actress Li Xinyun was singled out as "never less than watchable," while another critic wrote that "it is the composite of both Li's and Dada's personalities that give the film its soul." Also praised was the film's music by composer Andrea Guerra, whose score was called "ethereal" by Variety, an "unexpected treat" by Screen Daily, and one of the film's two saving graces by Bloomberg News (the other being Li Xinyun).
As of 2012, the film has not yet been released on DVD.
Read more about this topic: Dada's Dance
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