Ray Lobo
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I review films
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If You Love ESPN's 30 FOR 30 Series, OVER THE LIMIT Is For You
“Mental toughness” is one of those sports cliches constantly recycled by basketball analysts, football coaches, on down to Little League parents. It is a cliché attached to Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls teams he led to six championships in the 90s. The Last Dance, without a doubt, illustrated the perseverance required by all the members of the Bulls team as they faced on and off the court challenges. Now imagine taking on that mental toughness in an individual sport without teammates backing you. The documentary Over the Limit moves beyond sports cliche territory and demonstrates that the mental toughness of the practitioners of rhythmic gymnastics — a sport that demands a high degree of physical exertion while maintaining elegant form — is unparalleled. Polish director Marta Prus (Hot and Cold) invites the viewer to be a fly on the wall as she takes us inside Russia’s national rhythmic gymnastics team. Prus’s camera follows gymnast Margarita Mamun as she runs through a gauntlet of pre-Olympic training sessions, competitions, and tongue-lashings from her coaches.
By Ray Lobo3 years ago in Unbalanced