The story of the Soviet Union's famed Red Army hockey team through the eyes of its players.
Director: Gabe Polsky
Writer: Gabe Polsky (story)
Stars: Viacheslav Fetisov, Scotty Bowman, Mark Deakins
Red Army (2014) Full Movie
StorylineRed Army is a feature documentary about the Soviet Union and the most successful dynasty in sports history: the Red Army hockey team. Told from the perspective of its captain Slava Fetisov, the story portrays his transformation from national hero to political enemy. From the USSR to Russia, the film examines how sport mirrors social and cultural movements and parallels the rise and fall of the Red Army team with the Soviet Union.
Reviews
"Red Army" (2015 release; 78 min.) is a documentary about they heydays of the Soviet national hockey team (nicknamed the "Red Army") of the 1980s. As the documentary opens, we are introduce to Slava Fetisov, the poster child of that hockey team during that time. After some quick introductions to the tensions and rivalry between the US and the USSR in the cold war-era, we quickly get down to business and are told the story in a pretty straight-forward manner but which showcased again that at times facts are stranger than fiction. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: first and foremost, this is NOT a documentary about the "Miracle on Ice" 1980 Olympic game between the US and the Soviet Union (it is deal with in a matter of a few minutes in the documentary), so if you're expecting major attention to the Miracle On Ice, you are bound to be disappointed. Indeed, the beauty of this documentary is that the focus is almost entirely on the Soviet hockey players, as the documentary advances based on their own retelling of the events. Second, you may wonder whether this documentary is worth watching if at best you are a casual hockey fan, no worries. I am at best a casual hockey fan myself, but the documentary is so much more than about hockey: it's about the state of the USSR in the 70s and 80s, it's about people living within that system, it's about the prison-like conditions in which these celebrated hockey stars/national heroes lived day in, day out (they lived away from home in "hockey camps", which truly were like prisons, 11 out of 12 months of the year, just mind-blowing), etc. In short: this is a HUMAN story/documentary, not a SPORTS story/documentary. Kudos to writer-director Gabe Polsky for his laser-sharp focus on the Soviet characters, all along while displaying a nice sense of humor and tongue firmly planted in cheek. The amount of propaganda for the hockey team in the Soviet media was unparalleled. At one point, we see a group of younger/junior hockey players sing a song on Soviet TV, where they deliver the lines "Real men play hockey/Cowards don't play hockey" without any sarcasm. Just priceless. The last part of the documentary deals with the possible approval by the Soviet politburo to allow these player to go to the NHL. Fetisov's tale will have you shaking your head... Last but not least, I notice that Werner Herzog is credited as an Executive Producer of this documentary. I am a big fan of his non-fiction films, and he rarely is off the mark. As soon as I saw his name in the opening credits, I was quite certain that I'd be in for a good time. And I was.
"Red Army" opened last weekend without much pre-release fanfare or advertising at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I'm happy to report that the evening screening I saw this at a few days ago was surprisingly well attended, given that it was a weeknight. Hopefully the positive word of mouth will carry this "little documentary that could" to a wide audience. Bottom line: "Red Army" is a delightful documentary that will entertain and amaze you from start to finish. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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