How a blind judoka became a Paralympic champion
[ad_1]
“Kretsul” by Alexandra Likhacheva is being released, telling the real story of judoka Oleg Kretsul, who became a Paralympic champion after losing his sight. Shot by the excellent Romanian cinematographer Marius Panduru, this film is different from most sports dramas, but it also has its obvious antecedents.
Chisinau, 1997. Champion judoka Oleg Kretsul (Nikita Volkov), who recently returned from the Olympic Games, gets into an accident in which he loses his wife and goes blind. It’s as if there is no need to live anymore, but the sidekick Vitaly (Sergei Volkov) begins not only to help his friend, but to prepare him for the Paralympic Games. All that remains is to find money, a coach and motivate the now completely unstuck Oleg to win. All this is the real story of multiple Paralympic champion Oleg Kretsul and his friend and coach Vitaly Gligor, who participated in writing the script for “Kretsul”.
If from the description it may seem that this is a typical sports drama, then this is not at all the case. The film, laconic and requiring a very attentive viewer, was made by a graduate of Alexei Uchitel’s workshop, Alexandra Likhacheva, who previously worked in documentary films. The experience is noticeable: “Kretsul” gives the feeling of “working from the field,” as if the characters do not live in the world built by the director, but every now and then they fall into the lens of the camera of a sensitive documentarian. In general, if you treat “Kretsul” as a stylized doc, then numerous questions about the dramaturgy will disappear: as if the director simply did not always have access to the characters, it happens.
Directly behind the camera is the Romanian director of photography Marius Panduru, primarily known for his work with Radu Jude, Corneliu Porumbaiu and Catalin Mitulescu, which means he knows how to make the ordinary subtly strange, and the camera truly alive. The feeling of immediate presence here is so strong that sometimes there is a desire to get up and leave: you, dear viewer, were not invited here at all, the boys on the screen will sort it out without you. But for some reason I want to stay with these laconic characters, who avoid passionate feelings and are unfriendly to strangers, longer. “Kretsul” does not invite you to join your company, but that is what attracts you.
You will have to endure the darkness. And together with the blinded title character, feel your way through this dark movie in every sense. Plot motivations, details of relationships and details of biographies do not even fade into the background, but barely fit into the frame. Everything you need to know about the characters can be summed up in a couple of sentences. It is much more interesting to observe their direct interaction: Nikita Volkov and Sergei Volkov, who played the main roles incomparably, although not relatives, are inseparable from each other. Perhaps the director is right when he admits that the title of the film is unfortunate: “Kretsul”, it is not only about Oleg Kretsul, but also about Vitaly Gligor. About two not very sentimental people, tightly connected by an inexplicable (brotherly? friendly? courtyard?) connection.
The main nerve of “Kretsula” lies in the taciturnity of the characters. Throughout the entire film, not a single word of gratitude or support will be heard, not a single conflict will be voiced directly, but it’s all there on the screen. In the acting skills, in the sensitivity of the camera, in jokes and jokes. Likhacheva does not deconstruct masculinity, does not introduce any ambiguity, but carefully peers into the microcosm of a masculine, machismo world, in which people do not throw around words, but are ready to help with their shoulders and deeds.
Like the one who inspired Likhacheva “Fox Hunter” Bennett Miller, Kretsul itself can also easily become a source of inspiration for revisionist filmmakers. This movie is designed not so much for the viewer as a passive observer, but rather for an accomplice, or even a co-author. If there is at least one director in the cinema hall, it will only be better for the fate of the film. Just look, the category “film about sports” will become a field for experimentation.
In theaters from December 14
Subscribe to Weekend channel in Telegram
[ad_2]
Source link
