On December 14, "Kretsul" is released, a biographical film about the life of judoka Oleg Kretsul, who lost his sight but not his champion spirit.

It's the late 90s. Oleg Kretsul (Nikita Volkov) becomes the European judo champion, returns to his native Chisinau, and marries his beloved. But happiness is not destined to last long – just a few days later they get into an accident, causing Oleg to lose his sight and his wife to die. At this moment, his close friend Vitalik (Sergei Volkov) offers him a shoulder (not only figuratively), ready to sacrifice everything to help the athlete move on.

A film with such a premise could have followed the well-worn path of many uplifting sports dramas and shown how the hero did not break, but became stronger despite the circumstances and proved that we can all do the same. And at the end, there would be an obligatory happy ending with tears of joy.

But instead, Alexandra Likhacheva, for whom this film was her debut in feature film directing, chose a different approach. "Kretsul" is closer to "Foxcatcher" than to "The Blind Side." Sports are in the background, a catalyst for what the director is more interested in – the relationship between friends. Yes, there are scenes of competitions and some social subtext, not without episodes where the characters literally cannot pay for tea. But these are just a few pieces in the overall mosaic of conditions in which the relationship between Oleg and Vitalik develops.

It is also noteworthy how these interactions are presented by a female director, namely – in a very masculine way. Since both guys grew up in the 90s and have seen a lot, they are not used to vivid displays of emotion and frank conversations. Therefore, the acting here is built on half-tones, and the dialogues are more full of jokes and witticisms than talking about the main thing. And that's okay, because when a friend's shoulder is nearby, any sea is knee-deep.

The film's script turned out very "lively" and "authentic" – the real-life prototypes of the characters helped with its preparation, sharing their stories and anecdotes, making "Kretsul" almost a documentary sketch. This feeling is reinforced by the dynamic and lively camera work of cinematographer Marius Panduru.

Additional depth to the narrative is given by the lead actors' immersion into their roles. If you see Nikita Volkov on screen not for the first time, you will be amazed by his transformations in plasticity, manner of speaking (the actor himself jokes that the "shokanye" did not leave him for a long time after filming ended) and self-presentation. Sergei Volkov is a match for him, bearing the main role in conveying the nerve of the story, because for the most part this film is not about Don Quixote, but about Sancho Panza.

"Kretsul" is a well-directed, very sincere and truthful film about male friendship, in which there may be no high-flown speeches, but there is room for mutual respect and support under any circumstances.

Trailer:

"Kretsul" in theaters from November 14