I don't know if this documentary is the "Hockey Movie For People Who Don't Like Hockey". Actually, it isn't - rather, if you love hockey, especially the history and progression of it (and particularly if you remember these players from the likes of the Red Wings or the Devils), you'll have a fondness for it. But it's the core and characters in this story that makes Gabe Polsky's first documentary so successful, past the moments of gruffness from the interviewees - actually, it's mostly the main subject, the leader of the Red Army Hockey Team in the heyday of the early 1980s, Vyacheslav Fetisov. Inspirational sports movies can be enjoyed by most people, sports fan or not, but this also brings on the politics and world affairs into the mix. How could it not, considering it largely takes place before the Cold War ends? And leave it to the hockey masters here to wonder what a "Cold War" even really meant, if anything at all.
Of course by the end of the film we see why Fetisov and a couple of the other interviewees would say that - they currently hold ranks in the Russian government under the sports division (yes, there is such a group, but then this IS a country that has a nationalized hockey team in its military). Nonetheless, this is a story that involves us with these players who know almost nothing of hockey - rather, that's what's drilled in to them by a couple of coaches, one a sort of wise, awesome sage, and then another who is a ruthless and cruel taskmaster - and the games that made them legends. The lack of hyperbole with these interviewees, especially Fetisov, makes things grounded in a reality that sports docs usually on TV lack. Lots of great clips from the games, many from the Olympics of the 80's (including those classics where the Russians made their names against the US and Canada), highlight the film and draw the audience in to the action.
Again, you don't necessarily have to love hockey to get into the film. On the other hand, Red Army's ace up its sleeve is that it may actually get you interested once it's over. It feature such unusual, frenetic action on display - the Red Army front, those five players, each with their own nicknames and personalities and deep friendships formed as 'Comrades' with sticks - that you can't help but get into it. It's like watching a form of dance much as it's a sport or game. And, I must say once more, the political dimensions heighten the weight and consequences that the players took on in the history: keep in mind that just as early as 1989, it was unthinkable Russians could be in the NHL. Now, they're as common to see as Canadians or any of the other major countries that usually bring in players.
So buckle in for 80 minutes of a riveting story, often with a lot of unexpected, wild humor. Example: an elder ex-KGB agent is interviewed and gives his take on having to cover the Red Army players when first playing in Canada, and other instances of the secret politicos in the hockey arena. Watch as suddenly his grand-child comes in to the interview and humanity is revealed past the gruff exterior. It's priceless.
Of course by the end of the film we see why Fetisov and a couple of the other interviewees would say that - they currently hold ranks in the Russian government under the sports division (yes, there is such a group, but then this IS a country that has a nationalized hockey team in its military). Nonetheless, this is a story that involves us with these players who know almost nothing of hockey - rather, that's what's drilled in to them by a couple of coaches, one a sort of wise, awesome sage, and then another who is a ruthless and cruel taskmaster - and the games that made them legends. The lack of hyperbole with these interviewees, especially Fetisov, makes things grounded in a reality that sports docs usually on TV lack. Lots of great clips from the games, many from the Olympics of the 80's (including those classics where the Russians made their names against the US and Canada), highlight the film and draw the audience in to the action.
Again, you don't necessarily have to love hockey to get into the film. On the other hand, Red Army's ace up its sleeve is that it may actually get you interested once it's over. It feature such unusual, frenetic action on display - the Red Army front, those five players, each with their own nicknames and personalities and deep friendships formed as 'Comrades' with sticks - that you can't help but get into it. It's like watching a form of dance much as it's a sport or game. And, I must say once more, the political dimensions heighten the weight and consequences that the players took on in the history: keep in mind that just as early as 1989, it was unthinkable Russians could be in the NHL. Now, they're as common to see as Canadians or any of the other major countries that usually bring in players.
So buckle in for 80 minutes of a riveting story, often with a lot of unexpected, wild humor. Example: an elder ex-KGB agent is interviewed and gives his take on having to cover the Red Army players when first playing in Canada, and other instances of the secret politicos in the hockey arena. Watch as suddenly his grand-child comes in to the interview and humanity is revealed past the gruff exterior. It's priceless.