Marta Prus
Poland, Finland, Germany | 2017 | 74 min
Swiss Premiere
Language : Russian
Subtitles : English, French
Armed with a ball or a ribbon, attired in a sequined leotard, her determined gaze fixed on the floor, Rita arches her lower back and launches herself under the lights and the eyes of the audience. Rita is a high-level Russian rhythmic gymnast. At 20 years old, her career will soon be over. Under the ruthless gaze of her coaches, she is aiming for one last stage: to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games.
Her daily routine is governed by extreme tension; the search for perfection is its only dictate. The film strives to make us feel the state of pressure that Rita is under at every moment. Constantly on edge, her body and her mental condition tested, locked away in the gymnasia or cold corridors of international sports complexes, Rita is on the verge of tears. She is caught between the ambitious demands of her two coaches. And the editing, which is every bit as mastered as Rita’s choreographic sequences, is what keeps the film under pressure, using the explosive, although smouldering, relationships of this trio.
Madeline Robert
