Over The Limit
Superstar rhythmic gymnast Margarita Mamun has reached a crucial moment in her career. At the age of twenty, she is soon to retire but has one final goal: winning Olympic gold. As Margarita pushes her body to its breaking point, Irina Viner-Usmanova, her strict coach, assails her with caustic, withering critiques. Is Irina a merciless tyrant or the motivating guidance Margarita needs to fulfill her dreams? This nail-biting, behind-the-scenes documentary looks at the grueling Russian system for training athletes and the intense physical and mental labor put into a sport that thrives on its beautiful aesthetics.
"Captures Mamun’s extraordinary talent and graceful movements as she dances with a hoop or long ribbon. But between those gymnastic treats, viewers witness the daily, vicious attacks that she absorbs from trainers... Recommended." - Video Librarian
"Highly Recommended" - EMRO
Cast
- Margarita Mamun
- Irina Viner
- Yana Kudryavtseva
DVD Features
Short film, Iron Hands, directed by Johnson Cheng
Sound: 2.0 Stereo
Discs: 1
- "With her first feature-length documentary Over the Limit, Polish writer-director Marta Prus does for rhythmic gymnastics what Damien Chazelle did for drumming in Whiplash."
- "[A] darkly dazzling achievement. The tight, tense result surely ranks among the great modern sports docs."
- "...thoroughly engaging, an intense and emotional look at one athlete’s relationship to her sport."
- "harrowing and thoroughly captivating"
- "CRITIC'S PICK. Rather than shape an angry exposé, Prus, herself a former gymnast, recognizes and embraces the Cinderella-like appeal of Mamun’s punishing journey. "
- "Over the Limit is a film about passion and art. It is a film about what drives us, beyond logic and comfort. "
- "Margarita Mamun’s road to the Olympic gold medal is portrayed in a stunningly, exquisitely beautiful way that celebrates one of the most unlikely heroines of the sport. The film creates 74 minutes of gripping drama – it is probably only one slice of the truth (though honestly, who’d be interested in watching trainings where everything is smooth?), but it’s one of the most important works portraying RG."
- "**** (4 stars) [Marta Prus's] directorial hand is minimal and thus elegant. Mamun’s daily nightmare seems more real than any Hollywood rendition could be."
- "An intimate portrait of an athlete defying her own limits in order to conquer a respectful place among the finalists for the Olympics, documentarian Marta Prus’s sophomore feature is a brilliant examination on human resistance and eagerness. Triumphant! "
Gallery
Awards & Recognition
Best Feature
Krakow Film Festival
Best Director
Krakow Film Festival
IDFA Amsterdam
Moscow Int'l. Documentary Film Festival
Goteborg Film Festival
One World Prague
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