Thin Ice (2006)

Directed by: Håkan Berthas | 58 minutes | documentary

Between the Ladakh mountains in the Himalayas are two villages, Kargil and Leh. A group of women from Buddhist Leh is tired of only men being allowed to compete in ice hockey championships. With enormous passion, the whole village helps to make a skating rink so that the women can train. The residents know how to make hockey sticks with very little resources and to lead half-frozen river water to a flattened field. Thanks to the passionate commitment of everyone, the brand new team has hockey goals, a puck, a complete set of ice hockey sticks and even beautiful sports uniforms. It is clear that these headstrong women are not discouraged by traditions and customs.

Of course, this documentary has a happy ending. It is therefore confusing that the documentary starts with tears from the leader of the team. She says she was unable to fulfill her dream. Throughout the documentary, we see her doing nothing but playing ice hockey. So what’s the problem, you ask.

Furthermore, the documentary feels a bit weak at times. There are too many scenes whose relevance is not clear. In addition to training the team, we are presented with images of village life. How the villagers cook and eat together, for example. This is not bad to see, on the contrary, you become attached to these people. But the viewer eventually gets to see too little of the ice hockey story.

The story could be summarized this way: First the women were not allowed to participate, then some sports committee met, and then the team is allowed to participate, albeit only in the third pool, which can only play for the bronze medal. You’re missing the commission’s story. It would also have been nice if the male teams could have their say. What do they think of this first female team playing on the same terms as them? ‘Thin Ice’ is a heartwarming tale from one of the coldest regions on Earth. Although the makers have succeeded in portraying this story sympathetically, the documentary does not feel complete.