Completed in early 2021 and set 10 years ago, Elie Grappe’s confident and first scripted feature “Olga” was not intended for Russia to continue to attack Ukraine. .. But today, through another lens, it is impossible to watch a movie about a tough and vulnerable young Ukrainian gymnast in exile.
Similarly: whether Grappe intended to investigate the consequences of Western self-satisfaction with democratic enemies is now of little importance. Here we are, and here is this quiet and inspirational movie, a tragic memory of the cost of personal life and dreams.
At the least important level, “Olga”, written by Grappe and Raphaëlle Desplechin, is a sports drama driven by some convention in its sub-genre. Fifteen-year-old Olga (Anastasia Budiashkina) has her talent and dedication to reach the Olympics. But like other Rocky and Rudy, she faces a steep road.
Queue the montage. Only this time, they are newsreels of political conflict. Olga’s mother (Tagna Mikina) is a journalist, and a Russian-backed corrupt government investigation puts Olga and Olga’s lives at risk. Half-Switzerland, Olga fled to Switzerland to continue her training. Her family abroad is boring as the 2013-14 Maidan uprising swallows her loved one in Kyiv. Her opposite loyalty tears her inside.
For Olga, the stakes are clear when it comes to Ukraine: East or West, resignation or self-determination. Ukrainian gymnast Budiashkina, who made her acting debut, beautifully plays Olga as a stubborn teenager of guards with the weight of asylum on his shoulders. Plush Doll. Sadly, we know what solutions are waiting, her worries aren’t over yet.
Olga
Unrated. Execution time: 1 hour 25 minutes. At the theater.