Director: James Napier Robertson
A teenage dancer trades everything familiar for a shot at greatness in this 2023 drama, which follows one dreamer's collision with one of the world's most demanding ballet institutions.
What is The American about?
American ballet student Joy Womack wins a rare spot at Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet Academy, a school famous for pushing young dancers past their limits. Far from home and unable to lean on family or friends, she has to adjust to a new language, a rigid training culture, and instructors who expect nothing short of perfection. The story follows her first year inside the academy, tracking the small victories and setbacks that come with chasing a career few outsiders ever break into.
Cast & crew
Talia Ryder anchors the film as Joy, working alongside Diane Kruger, Oleg Ivenko, Natasha Alderslade, Natalia Osipova, Charlotte Ubben, Borys Szyc, and Tomasz Kot. Osipova, herself a celebrated ballerina, brings an insider's physicality to the ensemble, while Ryder carries the emotional weight of a performer navigating an unfamiliar system.
Context & significance
Director James Napier Robertson shot the film as a co-production spanning New Zealand, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, a scale that reflects the international nature of elite ballet training itself. Running 110 minutes, the drama sits alongside a wave of recent films examining the private cost of pursuing an artistic craft at the highest level, using the Bolshoi's real-world mystique as its backdrop rather than a fictional stand-in.
Where & how to watch
The American is available to watch on K-Time with a free account login, and the platform includes a Persian-dubbed version for viewers who prefer to follow the story in Farsi. Browsing the page itself requires no account — only pressing play does. K-Time's interface is built with the Persian-speaking diaspora in mind, from menus to search, so finding a title like this one and switching to the dubbed track takes only a couple of taps.