Joika

American ballet dancer Joy Womack fights tooth and nail to be accepted into Moscow's infamously tough Bolshoi Ballet Academy, with the dream of becoming a prima ballerina.

The obvious comparison is to Black Swan. Both films tell of the rigours and trials of training, becoming a ballerina, and then achieving greatness. Only a tiny proportion of ballerinas achieve great success, and this is about overcoming sabotage as well as politics and of course...training harder than anyone else.

Both films show the dark side and the bright side of ballet although arguably The American has fewer dancing scenes.

Talia Ryder is perfect in the role as Natalie Portman was in Black Swan. I totally believed in her dream, I believed in her ability to achieve it, and I believed that inside her she was born a dancer.

I wonder how much of the story is actual fact? Much of it is apparently, including the corruption allegations. This is how great the film was. It has made me question every aspect of it, and research Joy Womack's life so I get to know more about her, and generally have a more positive opinion of how difficult it is to become a great ballerina.

Fabulous film, I gave it a solid 8.

No pun intended - and if you know your ballet you get the reference anyway ... although if you know your ballet (as in really know) ... you might have heard of the real story behind this movie. While it may sound and feel cliche at times, apparently some of this actually happened.

I think you can tell I have no clue what transpired ... but maybe that helps the experience of watching this: not knowing where it will end up! Or rather where our main heroine will end up ... ballet or the pursuit of it .. does not really feel like the pursuit of happiness. Is it worth it? What does "winning" mean? How can one even measure ones success? Take the ending of this for example (no worries, won't say what it is) ... if the credits did not clarify ... it might or could have been interpreted differently I reckon.

Really tight script and well acted overall to say the least. Interesting I never heard of this before - good that I was able to find it on a streaming service.

Thus movie touched me in many ways but on the top the beauty and acting of Talia Ryder. She remained soul of this movie throughout and non any other character even close to her and I gave 6/10 to this movie just because of Talia. The charm of the movie was all gone as soon as you realize that none other were actually Russians and all are Ukranians or European took part in this movie so their Russian and English both were pathetic and Russians must have been laughing about it while watching this movie. Further the film is made in Poland so it totally lost its charm as picturizing such a movie with Russians and on original locations would have made some sense and perhaps then this movie may score 8-9 out 10.

Really well-done movie with touching photography, delving into the depths of human nature and the infinite ambition of chasing one's dreams. How much would you sacrifice for your dream?

Sacrifice amidst high-level politics, the cost of climbing to the top while staying true to yourself without losing touch with reality. An excellent film made on a minimal budget that serves as a reminder that more isn't always better. It's simple but direct, and provokes thought and reflection. You will not regret watching it. It doesn't matter if you like ballet or not; the same sentiment can be applied to any other form of live performance.

"Black Swan" was the definitive story of a ballerina spiralling into madness under the prolonged pressures of competition, physical wear and injury, and emotional insecurity. While Joy Womack narrowly avoids total destruction, "The American" just adds the cultural and political stressors without differentiating the styles of training and ballet between Russian and American schools. That would have been more telling than the unrelenting scenes of Joy Wormack's furrowed brow, tears and smeared mascara. Diane Kruger rescued this otherwise tedious litany with her portrayal of a tough taskmaster but the male dancer Womack marries (Nik) provides the only emotional relief and humanity in this maudlin tale.