Balestra, by Canadian filmmaker Nicole Dorsey, based on a screenplay by Imran Zaidi, is the strangest and most convoluted story seen on film in ages! The idea of making a thriller based on the training of a fencer is already an achievement in itself, fencing is not the most thrilling sport in terms of cinematic twists among the Olympic disciplines.
Balestra is Dorsey’s second thriller, after Black Conflux. Her release during the Paris Olympics turned out to be “a happy coincidence,” she confided to Globe and Mail. Because Dorsey was supposed to shoot this film in 2020, with Tessa Thompson and Marwan Kenzari in the lead roles.
If the filmmaker had been content with the kind of anticipation Black Mirror, Balestra could have sustained our interest for… two and a half hours. Unfortunately, Dorsey does not avoid the trap of two-penny morality. She addresses the downside of the American dream: success at all costs, the end that does not (always) justify the means… Against the backdrop of a Harlequin romance. We see as many waves, sand and sunsets on the sea in Balestra than in a week in an all-inclusive!
At 34, Joanna (Cush Jumbo, quite convincing) returns to fencing after a long break. And aims for nothing less than gold in Paris, despite her age and her setbacks. At the suggestion of her husband and coach, Joanna agrees to test an experimental device that allows her to train during… her sleep. She will virtually meet the seductive and mysterious Elliot (Manny Jacinto, who seems to master only one register of the game). However, this handsome avatar will upset the couple, the conscience and the dreams of the fencer. Because the means she takes to win are far from the Olympic ideal.
PHOTO DAVID ASTORGA, PROVIDED BY ENTRACT FILMS
Manny Jacinto in Balestra
If Balestra criticizes the individualism of the American dream, we quickly get around this story sewn with white thread. Between the dream world and Joanna’s reality, there are too many improbabilities, clichés and inconsistencies. The film’s packaging is slick. The camera movement and editing are skillful, particularly in the sword fight scenes. However, the story is complex and leads us towards a predictable and botched outcome. Too bad.
In original English and French version in some Quebec cinemas
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Fantasy drama
Balestra
Nicole Dorsey
With Cush Jumbo, Manny Jacinto, James Badge Dale
2:25