Fair Play

SPOILERS: It's too bad that Andrea Sedláčková paradoxically makes things easier for her characters. Not so much on the level of physicality, which is one of the film's strengths, because the ability of Fair Play to slip into physical intimacy and be an unpleasant experience goes beyond domestic customs. The film is "easy"on a moral level, in which it depicts the failure of characters who either do not know that they are failing (Anna), or failing because they are forced to do so because of good intentions and resistance to the system (the mother). From a certain point of view, Fair Play can come off as a chain of creating an alibi for what could provocatively be a "sick parental ambition" in another context. The film is not so much about doping in socialist sports as it is about (from my perspective) a less probable scenario where anabolic steroids serve as a desperate attempt to escape the dull machinery of normalization. It's nice that Martin's colleague tells Anna "don't take it if it’s not allowed", but Anna doesn't have to deal with this dilemma at all in the end. In fact, there is no one to doubt, because even the mother does it purely in bona fide and eventually symbolically "pays" for it. Fair Play is such a pleasantly digestible soft drama, which is undoubtedly engaging and well-told, cleverly shot, but also extremely descriptive and semantically unambiguous (does the mother still have to throw up by the garbage cans after a suggestive interrogation on Bartolomějská street? Does the director believe so little in the effect of that scene? This is another one of those films where the little guy morally triumphs over the machinery of power, while the failures are secondary and actually only serve to highlight the fair play attitude of the protagonist. I think that this greatly undermines the impact and reach of the testimony. [60%] P. S. I admit that I made my own film in my mind, where the famous fate of the socialist bloc at the LA Olympics would be a cruel joke for the protagonist. It is probably because I am attracted by the fatalistic vision of the recent past, in which the little lies and compromises eventually catch up with the characters. (03/05/2014)

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. (07/11/2014)

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. (08/17/2016)

The first of those three films our country produces every year that we can be proud of. The story is simple and its scope and visuals are not as large-format as Burning Bush, but it has similar internal power and even more sensitively captured details. You will be touched and sad, but you will also be glad you’ve seen this. (03/05/2014)

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. (03/13/2014)