Tribeca 2011: Klitschko Review
By David Kempler
Attack of the Killer Klitschkos
If you are not a boxing aficionado, but you did see the Rocky films, do you remember "Rocky IV"? That was the one where the villain was Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), the larger-than-life Russian that appeared to be carved out of granite. Shift it to reality, now, where two brothers, named Vitali and Wladamir Klitschko are real-life versions of Ivan Drago, except that these guys are smart and have some depth.
Sebastian Dehnhardt has crafted a documentary about these brothers that crackles with some of the best boxing footage I have ever seen. Punches are slowed down and replayed where you see heads snapping in one direction before recoiling back into place. At times it was plain startling to watch. Once, I even had to look away when one of them has a cut that would have caused me to pass out after calling for my mommy. His reaction was to be angry that the fight was being stopped by doctors.
But there is more to see here than just boxing footage. We also get to see the mindset of competing at boxing's highest levels, and the holes that these human beings can fall into by always being exposed to the public, for better or worse. In addition, we get a glimpse into their formative years.
Originally from the Ukraine, the brothers were raised by a military father who instilled toughness and a work ethic in them, but these kids do not grow up to be what one might expect would be the result of this upbringing. Instead, we have two pretty worldly guys whose interests span politics and chess, not the sort of things we have come to expect from professional athletes, let alone professional boxers.
Everything about the production screams professionalism and slickness, without being overly slick. There was nothing at all that disappointed me in "Klitschko". It's trite to say, but this is most definitely a knockout.
