White Nights Baryshnikov
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
White Nights is a 1985 film directed by Taylor Hackford and starring Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines and several other prominent actors and actresses.
Baryshnikov plays a Soviet ballet dancer who had previously defected to the west. He meets Hines’ character, a fellow tap dancer (albeit from the United States) who wants to defect, but in the opposite direction. They experience a bit of friction because of the opposite sides.
But when Baryshnikov is forced to land in Siberia and he’s recognized, the two dancers are immediately captured and their skills put to use by the Soviets. Captured together they soon become friends and confidants, and Hines works hard to help Baryshnikov leave the country he so desperately wants to escape. And, in the end, Baryshnikov does indeed get away.
The entire movie was shot in Finland despite most of it being set in the Soviet Union.