Some movies mean well, taking on important topics and worthy causes, but that doesn't mean they should automatically get a pass. Such is the case with Desert Dancer, which is a fact-based drama about Afshin Ghaffarian, a young man living in Iran who, in 2009, helped form an underground dance troupe in Tehran, even though the repressive government forbids dancing. It's a movie about the power of art to confront tyranny -- which, hey, I'm totally behind -- but, good heavens, this movie is so bloody earnest. I reviewed Desert Dancer, starring Freida Pinto and Reece Ritchie, for Screen International.
