Directed by:
Andrea SedláčkováScreenplay:
Andrea SedláčkováCinematography:
Jan Baset StřítežskýCast:
Judit Pecháček, Aňa Geislerová, Roman Luknár, Eva Podzimková, Ondřej Novák, Roman Zach, Igor Bareš, Jiří Wohanka, Ondřej Malý, Taťjana Medvecká (more)Plots(1)
1980's in Czechoslovakia. Young sprinter Anna (Judit Bárdos) becomes a member of The National Sports Centre. Her mother (Anna Geislerova) and her coach (Roman Luknar) hope she will meet requirements of qualification for the Olympics. The only thing which swerves Anna from her world of tough sports drill is her relationship with Tomas (Ondrej Novak). Anna starts unknowingly getting doped with anabolic steroids. Her performance is getting better but at the same time first health problems occur. Anna learns the truth about the drugs and although her participation at the Olympics is at stake she is going to continue in her training without them. However, her mother hopes Anna might use her participation at the Olympics as a mean of immigration and she decides to apply the steroids to Anna secretly, pretending it is nothing but doses of harmless vitamins. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (12)
I applaud because this really worked as a whole. The 80s, a story that nails the viewer to their chair and reminds them a bit of what was and what isn’t a given. Judit did a great job, and since she was new to me, I enjoyed getting a peek at this unfamiliar face in different positions. The direction was excellent too. The fact that I accidentally came across the film now that the Tokyo Olympics are in full swing is only enhancing my cinematic experience. And I guess that's why I can't score it any other way.
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A very good film with two quite crucial "buts" for me, which I will describe in a slightly spoilerish P.S. Fair Play is filmed with ease, the period atmosphere is good and Judit Bárdos is absolutely great in the lead role. Surprisingly, I also liked Aňa Geislerová this time, who gives a very civil performance. It's a compelling, sad story that wants to make the viewer think, and I hope it will lead as many of them as possible to that conclusion.____Slightly spoilerish P.S.: I didn't like the fact that the mother and the coach didn't also involve the doctor in their plan to secretly administer the stromba to her daughter, because then there would be no risk of her "telling" (which is what happened). I'm also quite fed up with StB plots that always start, run and end the same way.
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It’s been a long time since I’ve had such an intense but at the same time a scary experience at the cinema. At first glance, Fair Play looks like a classic sports drama. Watching it, however, made me realize that classic sports drama is a concept that only Hollywood has taught me to perceive. So, let’s take out the classic outline – someone sets a goal for themselves, they’re bad at it, then they get good, there’s some kind of trouble at the end, but it all turns into a happy ending. But this movie is different. Fair Play might be about a sport, but it’s also about the modern day. And I’d say it’s mainly about the modern day. Judith Bardós delivered a god-like performance – sober, human and natural. When it comes to the mom who was portrayed by Anna Geislerová, I kept thinking that if this wasn’t a movie, then this could be the very same neighbors I have in my own apartment building, so believable was her character. And that’s exactly why I was so immersed in their story. Including the series of unanswered questions. For example, the situation with her dad could have been handled way better, in my opinion. I personally can’t imagine leaving my family and emigrating because of the regime. But I also can’t imagine the secret police being nice to the people who are “acting out” and, for example, give them a month to change their mind about cooperating. Even so, I have to pay a compliment to them, because I’ve never seen such a distinctive, depressing and sad movie from that era. On top of all that, it was a solid piece of filmmaking. Fair Play is definitely a movie that the whole nation should find worthy thinking about.
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Every year, two to three films are made in the Czech Republic that are really good (especially compared to the rest of domestic production). Fair Play is one of them. Powerful stories about being powerlessness in the days of socialism, about intimidation, blackmail and manipulation through an uncompromising regime have been told many times, but never in connection with sports. The directing is very precise and clean, and there is no lack of attention to detail and elaborate dialogues. Judit Bárdos in the main role of a talented athlete, Aňa Geislerová as her mother and Roman Luknár in the role of a strict coach also deserve praise. Satisfaction.
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Fair Play doesn't comment too well on me because on one hand it pleased me, on the other it disappointed me. It's nice that it admits what everyone already knows, namely why Helena Fibingerova had such hairy legs, but it annoys me that the biggest heroes are once again those who escaped the evil Bolsheviks to the West, while the rest of us loyal servants proudly held the torch of socialism, of course excluding those whose escape failed, they suffered here of course. I'm tired of it already, I hope another regime change won't come, I wouldn't want to memorize the names of new heroes. It seems to me like the movie wants to be deeper than it really is, but I would still like to highlight the very decent performances, I would see the mistakes more in the screenplay.
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