by Shane Conto, Staff Writer
What trials and roadblocks can possibly get in the way of a 15-year-old gymnast’s life? Director and co-writer Elie Grappe offers up plenty of trauma in the life of her titular Olga on her journey to overcome a violent society to become an expert gymnast. Olga’s world is becoming more complicated with a revolution causing issues in her life. She feels a disconnect from her mother, who is fighting within this revolution. Olga must also deal with all the challenges of being a 15-year-old as well. Struggling to make friends, tensions with her coach, and the pressures of competition are all certainly mounting.
But how does Grappe capture all the complexities and layers to Olga’s life? First off, this is well-crafted and shot in quite the engaging manner. Grappe and her cinematographer, Lucie Baudinaud, take an intimate and voyeuristic approach. The handheld camera allows the audience to feel nice and close to the characters on screen. This feeling of being watched is relatable and frustrating at times when a human being can finish all of this. These intimate and raw camera shots allow for the audience to feel the emotions being conveyed by the actors on screen. The subtlety of their work goes a lot further along when the camera can capture such detail. In general, the film has a beautiful and raw feel to it as well.
But what about the anchor to the whole project? Olga herself is brought to life by a talented young actress in Anastasiia Budiashkina. This young woman does so much with such great variety. The elements of her performance that truly shine are those subtle moments. Budiashkina shows early on that she can capture so much energy and emotion in just the stare from her eyes and the innocence that pours out. Whether it is receiving negative feedback from her coach or hearing what she doesn’t want to hear from her mother, you can read all the frustrating things emanating from her face and body language. But that is not to say that she doesn’t get to have those moments where she lets loose. There are some heated exchanges with her mother, there is tension, and that tension will put the audience on edge. Without such a reflective and empathetic performance, Olga just would not click as it should.
How does Grappe balance this narrative to maximize the drama that Olga experiences? As stated earlier, there are quite a few threads that flow through the narrative causing adversity in Olga’s life. The broader revolution leads to some big ideas in the film, as well as some more dangerous beats (including the opening sequence that is a tense and frightening experience for Olga, her mother, and the audience as a whole). Grappe does a fine job in layering in bigger ideas, but the film is still a personal introspection. The tension between Olga and her mother is mounting throughout each moment, including some tense video chats that offer up some of the best dramatic moments for Budiashkina to sink her teeth into. There are quite a few elements bouncing all around (more structure probably would have been more meaningful), but the film is able to hammer down towards the finale that sees two unexpected elements clashing and solidifying their effects. Olga is a strong character who runs quite the gambit.
But does Grappe’s film keep up with the nuanced content out of the narrative created by the director? There are a lot of elements that are being balanced out in this film, and everyone tries their best to connect with this story and their protagonist. The emotions are poignant, and the story is quite inspiring. Grappe and Budiashkina put their efforts together to offer up a moving and engaging drama.
Score: 8/10
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