In all fairness, "The Queen of Figure Skating" is a very typical young director's debut, with both obvious innocence and vibrant freshness, and more importantly, for those of us who are still impressed by Russian cinema. For audiences of the level of remakes of Hollywood action films, the labels of sports, love, light comedy, and inspiration are enough to show the characteristics of young Russian filmmakers and the other side of the "fighting nation".
Like last year's hit Hollywood movie "I, Queen of Figures", the protagonist of "Queen of Figures" is also a figure skater who has experienced ups and downs, but is different from Tanya Harding, who was finally crushed by a fucking life. The Russian girl Nadia finally got lucky and got something more important. If it is said that "I, Queen of Figures" is a champion who is shaped by incomprehension and resentment, then "Queen of Figures" uses small and fresh tones to make the film a lot easier. What we see is a The Snow Queen who persevered to the end with encouragement and love.
How hard is it for a person to strive for what they want? Maybe no one is optimistic about your talent at the beginning, maybe you have to go through repeated falls and brutal training, maybe those who sent you encouragement gradually disappear one by one, and when finally everything looks a little bit. , fate just told you with a smile that everything has just begun. So, when Nadia accidentally broke her spine before the World Cup and faced the relentless departure of her princely boyfriend and partner, she seemed to have no choice but to give up.
"Do you want me to use both hands to win the figure skating championship?" Such a rhetorical question is of course angry, but it also contains a lot of unwillingness and grievance. The predicament created by the film for Nadia is that her dreams and love must be reborn in a trough, and she must use her own efforts to prove that the selfish ex-boyfriend made a wrong choice. At this time, Sasha of the ice hockey team appeared. But unlike Leonav, his ex-boyfriend who is usually gentle and considerate in appearance and figure, Sasha, who is far from a standard gentleman, is not Nadia's food at all. As a "savage" ice hockey player (you must know that ice hockey is tacitly allowed to fight during the game), Sasha and the "elegant" figure skater Nadia seem to be two extremes, this unreliable big Boy, he can help Nadia regain consciousness with such a bizarre way of hitting the puck at Nadia, and he can shout "Trust the Force" to restore her confidence, and he can push her wheelchair down a slope and bite the bullet. Acting as an unqualified figure skating partner. And it was him who finally hugged Nadia when they were kicked out of the game - they didn't have a championship, but they seemed to have achieved something more important than a championship.
Of course, it is not difficult to guess the direction of such a love story. We can also give the two characters the hats of "scumbag" and "warm man" respectively, but this is not the point. The point of the film is that, along with the Nadia's injury and perseverance, accompanied by the contrast between a prince who only thinks about champions and regards love as a stepping stone, and a big boy who has no heart and is reckless, the film gives the greatest love for love. praise. Indeed, every athlete is chasing the championship, just like Tanya Harding in "I, Queen of Flowers" stubbornly chasing the triple jump, but when the dazzling halo-like championship dream gradually distorts our When we live—Tanya’s husband and mother, Nadia’s ex-boyfriend—the only thing that can save us is love and tolerance. Tanya Harding was left alone and ended up falling prey to the heavy American dream, and Nadia was lucky to have Sasha, who innocently ran with her on the ice in a doll suit. When Leonav was reluctant to play with Nadia because of the recurrence of her old injury, Sasha finally expressed her inner confession on the ice. Love can heal pain, but medals cannot correct inner selfishness. . Perhaps only the love and enthusiasm that is not absent can provide energy for the process of chasing dreams again and again, and the indifferent Leonaf can only face the cold metal on a whole trophy wall.
What is more important than the medal is love. If you think that "The Queen of Figure Skating" will take another direction of "love is the ultimate destination" when emphasizing this theme, then you may underestimate this film. Indeed, in "Queen of Figure Skating", Sasha's feelings have been inspiring Nadia to get back on her feet, but what really makes Nadia a qualified athlete, and what really makes her finally enter the arena even if she is injured Not a man, but herself. Even the most important twist in the plot: Sasha being run over in front of her by a car, which eventually sparks her body's instinct to get rid of her paralysis, does so in a rather symbolic way of "women stand up on their own". Completed. In fact, in the whole film, Nadia resisted the ruthlessness of fate with personal efforts almost from the beginning to the end. The director used a quick clip in the style of MV in the front and back of the film to show Nadia's childhood. The recovery process after training and injury, the concise and rhythmic and passionate soundtrack made us feel a certain pure passion with this girl who gritted her teeth and insisted on her dream. Stubborn, strong, and never give up, behind such a character, Nadia finally realized that on the road of chasing her dream, what she needed was not the one who used her as a prop, because she was injured and walked away because she was injured. Leonaf, who recovered and turned back immediately, is Sasha who respects and understands her dreams at all times, and silently prays for her by his side.
It is in this tone that "Queen of Figure Skating" turned a conventional love story into Nadia's growth process, and it was not only her courage to "say goodbye to scumbags", but more importantly, her growth. Insist on self, never vassal attachment. On the movie screen where women's topics are getting more and more attention and attention, Nadia is not the most dazzling one. There are no shocking remarks, no revolutionary choices, but she is more real. She faces It's the same problem that every ordinary girl around us faces. If you give everything to someone else, then like the accident where Nadia got hurt, it's always you who falls to the ground. Among the seemingly traditional light-comedy romances, "The Queen of Figure Skating" places dreams and love on equal ends of the scale, which is an added surprise for the film. It is precisely because of this that Nadia, who lost her qualifications at the end of the competition, may have completed her final growth. She is no longer the daughter who stepped on the ice rink under her mother's expectations, and she is no longer an athlete who trained hard with the coach. , is no longer the partner of a man who is regarded as a golden boy and a girl by the world, she has become herself, and she has found the right direction of chasing her dreams.
"Queen of Figure Skating" as a debut, shows a considerable degree of completeness, of course, in addition to the depth of the story, which is also due to the graceful posture of figure skating itself and the magnificent scenery of Russia. But perhaps little-known is that figure skating, one of the most beautiful sports in the world, is light and agile, but at the same time, it is also one of the most dangerous sports. Falls while skating, mistakes in throwing, sharp skates and inertia from high speed, any misstep can have serious consequences. Under such conditions, every action in this film adapted from real events has given a heavier color to the film's dream-chasing theme. Athletes in reality have few opportunities to get the same results as Nadia. The chance to stand up again, but they also once fell on the training ground like Nadia, danced on the field, and cried secretly when they were lost. They also had their own love, hate and choices. Behind the story, these people who insist on themselves for their dreams and stand up again and again for love are the queens of life. Because just like the movie poster, they still have a fiery heart full of love under the icy cold and strong ice.
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