“Agon” review: Science and sports collide in a sublime artistic study of three female athletes facing disaster

Add the letter “y” to the title of Italian director Giulio Bertelli’s sublime artistic debut, and you’ll get a good idea of ​​what’s in store for us: a lot of physical and mental suffering, in a frighteningly realistic story of three female athletes facing major disasters.

Not quite a documentary, but far from the typical work of fiction, conflict It places its three heroines in situations taken from the rigorous, highly engineered world of professional sports, pushing them to their limits and beyond. After months of intense physical therapy and advanced training, the three end up competing in a mock Olympics known as “Ludoj 2024.” But their chances of obtaining gold are challenged by disasters that they have little ability to control, putting their careers at risk.

Bertelli’s documentary-hybrid narrative is decidedly dark, though not necessarily bleak, and is an unflinching look at the trials and travails of contemporary sports. It’s also a visually seductive meditation on the many ways in which science – whether biological or technological – plays a pivotal role in any serious mathematical endeavour. The director, the son of billionaire fashion designer Miuccia Prada (heir to the famous Italian brand and creator of Miu Miu), is no stranger to such a world, having spent years as a professional sailor before he began designing sailboats and other things himself.

actually, conflict It lies somewhere at the intersection of sports and different forms of design, whether natural or artificial, real or virtual. The human body is ultimately the main hero of the film, undergoing punishing and sometimes deadly exercises to reach its peak, which in this case means winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games.

Unfortunately – and quite intentionally – the three fictional athletes chronicled in Bertelli’s chronicles find themselves facing tragic, career-altering setbacks on their way to the podium.

In the case of judo star Alice Bellande, played here, this would be a recurring knee problem requiring invasive surgery – seen up close in harrowing footage from the operating room – followed by months of agonizing treatment. For sniper Alex Sokolov (Sofia Zubina, No chimera), considered the first in her field during the run-up to Ludoj, a leaked video of her hunting wolves turned into an online scandal. And for the duelist Giovanna Falconetti (Yili Vianello, Corpo Celeste), everything seems to be going smoothly until a freak accident suddenly gets her kicked out of the games.

What happens to each of them is pretty much as bad as what happens in their respective field, underscoring how even the best trainers and most advanced equipment on the planet can’t prevent the unexpected or inevitable from happening. Bertelli certainly puts his characters in a bind: he doesn’t seem to guide them so much as explain them, as if they were human specimens undergoing endless testing—which is somehow what it’s like nowadays to be a professional athlete at the highest level.

sad and clinical, conflict Sometimes plays like an antidotechariots of fireexposing the inhumane underside of the world’s premier sporting competition. But there’s also a lot of beauty in the way Bertelli captures objects and technology in action, with DP Mauro Chiarello’s sharp images highlighting the incredible skills needed to rise to such feats of excellence. Bellandy, whose long and grueling post-operative recovery serves as the film’s main throughline, can be awe-inspiring to watch — even if she barely says a word and spends a fair amount of time either whimpering or screaming in pain.

Certain moments are reminiscent of scenes from The Troubled Doctor De Humani Corporis Fabricawhile others resemble the coldly observed planetary studies of Austrian director Nicholas Geyerhalter (Homo sapiens). But Bertelli also created his own aesthetic here, finding new connections between the organic and the mechanical. The moving objects intersect with custom-made gun factory grinding gears. Human battles are juxtaposed with virtual reality visuals or first-person shooters. In one horrifying scene, sniper Sokolov masturbates alone in her hotel room while watching a Japanese anime porn video on her phone, relieving weeks of stress and suffering.

No one winds up a winner conflictNot to mention getting out of these fake Olympics unscathed. However, this fascinating fictional study reveals the extent to which athletes will continue to test themselves, even if they risk breaking the process. After so much blood, sweat, and tears — all of which feature prominently at various points in the film — we wonder if it was really worth it.