In the eyes of the audience and the athletes themselves, the concept of winning a medal is different. The former thinks it is a kind of "canonization", while in the latter's life, it is just a node. After that, it was quick to get back to real life from the podium. And for athletes who are forced to retire, sometimes life itself is a tougher, more complicated field, and harder to adapt to.
Watching this "Bronze Superstar" during the Olympics is a special feeling, it creates a subtle sense of substitution, where the characters and stories are intertwined with everything that is happening in Brazil. If the camera in the live broadcast of the Brazilian competition is aimed at the glory of the athletes, then this "Bronze Superstar" is aimed at the loneliness after they turned back to the trivial reality. Like most sports films, it has a high-spirited core, but it is told in a way of anti-chicken soup. The heroine of this story is a typical female man, a restrained man who does not allow her feelings to be exposed, and a high-defying master. .
The Chinese national anthem rang shortly after the opening of the film. The heroine Hope's father was cooking for his daughter in the kitchen, while whistling and playing this sonorous tune. This is the music that both father and daughter are familiar with. As a gymnast, Hope once won a bronze medal in the arena, and this project is China's absolute strength. Now, Hope can no longer participate in the competition, because of an accidental injury, she had to retire early. But she still indulges in the ambition of the time and refuses to accept the reality. She wears fat tracksuits all day, with the hairstyle of a gymnast, and makes all kinds of unreasonable demands on her father. She refuses to find a job and steals money from him every day. Hope was the town's glory, where she could dine for free at fast-food restaurants and get the latest sneakers at the sporting goods store, but now, the glory is fading. Dad felt something had to change.
Unlike most hot-blooded sports films, "Bronze Star" is always ready to interrupt the climax. When the supporting cast is ready to bring the atmosphere to the next level, Hope's job is to freeze the tumbling chicken soup on hand. Those small and real humors make people feel a kind of nasty pleasure.
Hope's father tricked her into leaving her a $500,000 inheritance from her recently deceased head coach, but only if she could take over a student and bring her out of grades. She went for the money, but her father knew that was the only way to ignite her fighting spirit.
In "Bronze Medal Superstar", all the hard work and cruel training on the field have been downplayed and left behind, and the highlights are actually the details of life "beyond sports", the communication, exchange, interaction and psychological activities between people, The sprouting of love, the depth of fatherly love, and the subtle changes in mentality and the real humanity revealed when an athlete sees fame and fortune.
It's the kind of film full of deconstruction that dismantles all the grandeur and majesty attached to sports, but in the end builds up something awe-inspiring. It's full of swearing, ridicule, self-deprecation and ridicule, and even has a sex scene full of gymnastic moves. The exaggerated, almost absurd and funny sex scene unexpectedly became a slightly sad metaphor. After retiring, the girl who relied on fried food and carbonated drinks every day never had the chance to make those dexterous and even some incredible body language. In the end, she was walking with the scheming chicken thief she hated. Sexually revisited those actions that were still fresh in my memory. And this scene also reflected Hope's masturbation at the beginning. She needed to watch her award-winning screen to stimulate her physical desire. It's cruel and absurd.
There are so many little details buried in this film, warm and secretive. Gymnastics is a sport that demands perfection. It requires athletes to be able to control every muscle, posture and movement to express strength and grace, but the film deliberately implants a gym staff with facial tics as an assistant to the heroine. , and even eventually become lovers. The uncontrolled twitching and the work they do create a subtle contrast that mirrors the real, imperfect worldly life they live in. The image of Hope's father is really touching. He is silent, responsible, silently serving as a trash can for his daughter's emotions, and he does everything possible to urge her to stand on her own. In a way, he is the "coach" in her life, doing what she needs to do in silence, never revealing anything.
"Bronze Star" is not about victory, or even sportsmanship, it is more about victory in life. The arena is just a tiny part of life. The victory or defeat on the arena is temporary, full of drama and contingency, but the victory or defeat in life will test everyone for a long time. For Hope, the biggest gain in re-entering the sports circle this time is not to bring out a champion, but that she re-enters a normal life. Accepting a self under the podium, accepting a life that is not surrounded by applause and glory.
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