Olga (2021)

Directed by: Elie Grappe | 85 minutes | drama, sports | Actors: Anastasiia Budiashkina, Sabrina Rubtsova, Caterina Barloggio, Théa Brogli, Jérôme Martin, Tanya Mikhina, Alicia Onomor, Lou Steffen, Aleksandr Mavrits, Philippe Schuler, Stéphanie Chuat, Roger Jendly, Pierre Mifsud, Max Rüdlinger, Monika Schätzle

‘Olga’ is about a fifteen-year-old gymnast who belongs to the top of her country, Ukraine. Everything indicates that she may represent her country at the approaching European Championship. Who knows, she may also participate in the Olympics. But ‘Olga’ is set in the period just before the Euromaidan, the protests in 2013 that led to the impeachment of President Yanukovych. Add to that the fact that Olga’s mother is a journalist, whose work is a thorn in the side of the government and its supporters, and after a failed attempt on the lives of mother and daughter, it is clear that Olga’s life is no longer certain.

Because the girl has a Swiss father (he has since passed away), mother Ilona sends her teenage daughter to a safe place in Switzerland. There she stays with a host family, who takes her in lovingly, but leaves her reasonably free. Olga finds a new opportunity to win gold here among the snow-capped peaks. “It’s basically the same as at home, but much more luxurious,” she confides to her friend, also a gymnast, Sasha via a video call.

What is not the same as at home is the hostile attitude of the other Swiss gymnasts towards the newcomer. Although Olga speaks a reasonable word of French, she finds no connection with the jealous, ambition-driven other athletes. At most, she shares a few moments with the timid Zoé that point to a budding friendship. And meanwhile, reports are seeping through about the worsening situation in Kiev.

‘Olga’ is a mixture of a coming-of-age drama, a political thriller and a sports film. The authentic images of the demonstrations on Maidan Square give the film a documentary character, but also the breathtaking stunts performed by the gymnasts on the beam and uneven bar bridge contribute to the realistic appearance of the film (the actresses playing the roles of Olga , Sasha, Steffi and Zoé are truly high-level gymnasts). The title character is a typical teenager, moody, unruly, but at the same time passionate about what is close to her heart. Your heart breaks as she tries in vain to contact her mother, who always seems to prefer her job over her daughter.

In any case, director Elie Grappe has won gold with his feature film debut, his film is the Swiss entry for the Oscars of 2022. ‘Olga’ has already won several prizes (Cannes, Hamburg, Brussels). He films the gymnastics scenes in a way that makes you hold your breath: does she miss it, does she end up right? The tight running time (‘Olga’ clocks in at 85 minutes) means there isn’t too much of a scene in this confident film. Grappe balances the themes of political turmoil and a young girl’s dreams as if he himself had been on the balance beam for years.