Olga is a rising star Ukrainian gymnast (played by Anastasiia Budiashkina, herself a former member of the Ukrainian national team) whose shot for glory coincides with the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. When her mother’s job as a journalist critical of the incumbent president, Yanukovych, places them both in immediate danger – a superb, visceral scene shows a deliberate, targeted car crash from the point of view of the terrified teenager – Olga is exiled to Switzerland. Her late father’s Swiss nationality allows her to compete on the Swiss team, but Olga’s heart is in Ukraine, and is repeatedly broken by the scenes of brutality emerging from the Maidan protests.
Shot with a documentary-style naturalism and propulsive restlessness that mirrors Olga’s ferocious drive, this is a terrific, timely feature debut. And although she was presumably cast primarily for her gymnastic talent, Budiashkina turns in an impressively textured performance, nailing the nervy uncertainty of not quite fitting in and the saturating grief of watching from afar while her former world falls apart.
