Skipped Flicks-White Nights

I love this one!

White Nights is a wonderful story of a Russian defector who finds himself on a plane making an emergency crash landing in the USSR. He makes a desperate attempt to destroy his passport and any documents showing his identity--but to no avail. He awakens in the secluded Russian hospital and finds that he is now pulled back into the Soviet life and will be dancing for "his country" whether he wants to or not.

When this movie first came out--the political climate of the Soviet Union was exactly as this film portrays. But as I watched it with my teens they kept saying, "Wait, really?" and I had to keep replying, "yes, that is what it was like--not very long ago." They were fascinated at the idea of a person needing to escape from his own country in order to live his own life, and that he could die trying. And to have every movement made and word spoken to be monitored was horrifying as well. Not really a concept that our kids deal with these days--so I felt like it was really valuable for them to see.

Of course, having the opportunity to watch Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gregory Hines dance will always be an incredible experience--at least for some of us. They are amazing--trust me on this.

Motherly Advice: The ClearPlay filter will come in handy to clean up a bit of angry profanity as well as a few racial slurs--but other than that, there is no skin and only implied violence.

Whether or not you love ballet or dance of any kind this film will surely kindle a sense of gratitude for the life and freedom we have in our world now--and that's always a good thing.

Launi--Grateful to be in this place at this time.