This is a new film from Spain. The original title is Caída Libre.
Marisol believes she has her life completely under control. She lives in a seemingly happy marriage and works as a coach for the Olympic rhythmic gymnastics team, where she is a methodical and authoritarian boss, with the world championship on her mind. When she discovers that her husband is unfaithful, her whole world will be shaken and she will enter a self-destructive spiral that could end her.
Sports films have as many passionate fans as the sports themselves. For example, name the best baseball movie. Is it Bull Durham? Field of Dreams? The Natural? Major League? 42? Moneyball? A League of Their Own? Long Gone? Bingo Long? Bang the Drum Slowly? Pride of the Yankees?
So many choices.
Too many choices.
But I’ve never heard a boozy barroom argument about the best rhythmic gymnastics movie.
I’d probably go with Bang the Drum Slowly, but I actually haven’t seen it since I was a kid so I’m not sure. Bad News Bears should be on the list as you can’t go wrong with Walter Matthau.
I barely remember Bang the Drum Slowly. Maybe it was too serious for me. I like my sports movies funny.
I’d go with either Bill Durham or Moneyball. Two very different movies, but each great in its own way. Albeit neither has any nudity that I can recall, so the rhythmic gymnastics film has an advantage on them there.
I see online that you do briefly see one of Susan Sarandon’s breasts in Bull Durham. I didn’t remember that – or maybe it was too brief for me to notice.
Here
Thanks. I don’t know why I did not recall that (and still don’t) despite having seen Bull Durham maybe five times. Must be one of those ‘blink and you missed it’ reveals. Ms. Sarandon has done much more memorable nudity that I do recall, especially that scene from Atlantic City where she is standing at a window – a scene that really made an impression on me as a young man.
She’s an actual gymnast. Nice!
Video
For kicks and giggles, I got on Wikipedia to determine which sports have had the the most movies made about them. This was my top ten (feel free to double check, if, like me, you have no life):
1) Boxing–237
2) Football–201
3) Baseball–185
4) Basketball–175
5) Auto Racing–140
6) Soccer–128
7) Horse Racing–121
8) Ice Hockey–85
9) Track & Field–72
10) Cycling–63
At the bottom end of the list, there were 5 movies about Australian rules football, 4 about handball, 3 about curling, fencing, and water polo, and 1 about darts (a 2024 documentary).
And one about Dodgeball…
“But I’ve never heard a boozy barroom argument about the best rhythmic gymnastics movie.”
Not a movie, but it’s Spike Jonze’s video for “Electrobank” by the Chemical Brothers, starring Sofia Coppola.
I’ll take your word that Electrobank accurately captures the thrills and passion that we all associate with rhythmic gymnastics.
My favorite baseball movie is Damn Yankees (1958). Several times at key points during my youth they would air it five times a week and I memorized when it was time to switch over to it to see Gwen Verdon do “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets” so I always caught it. I believe that very scene jump started me into puberty. Ray Walston as the devil was great also.