Armbryterskan från Ensamheten (2004)

Directors:

Helen Ahlsson
Lisa Munthe

Writers:

Helen Ahlsson (writer)
Lisa Munthe (writer)

Release Date:

1 October 2004 (Sweden)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

The tiny village in the far north of Sweden called Ensamheten (Solitude) has sixteen inhabitants. They all share an unusual passion - armwrestling...

Plot Keywords:

Female Athlete | Arm Wrestling | Athlete | Arm Wrestling Contest

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Heidi Andersson
Jeanette Andersson
Kent Andersson
Björn Ferry	...	Himself

Runtime:

78 min

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish | English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Ensamheten, Storuman, Västerbottens län, Sweden

Company:

Migma Film AB

Inspiring and boring at the same time

Quite a thought provoking documentary about the Swedish female world arm wrestling champion and her life.

Certain parts were boring (OK, she lives in a small village called Solitude where all inhabitants are family, we get it!) while others where very fascinating (most of all the world championship itself).

I think the documentary would have been much better had it focused on the championship.

Some more points: * What was going on in the competition? Some more details (number of participants, rounds etc) would have been interesting. I find the sport of Arm Wrestling much like Sumo from a spectator's viewpoint (short, intense matches), although Sumo competitions are much better filmed. * How did Heidi's father and the other fellow (Torbjörn? Who was he? Her brother? her cousin?) do in the competition? The filmmaker build up rapport with these two, but we only see her father losing one game.

Finally, I was reminded about the main character of a Swedish fantasy novel - Svärdsspel i Hadarlon (www.neogames.se/svardsspel). Heidi Anderson could get that role any day, she even looks like Ryana, who in the book struggle a lot to win a championship, just like Heidi.