Gaea Girls

(2000)

★ 6.7 IMDb · 12 votes

Genres: Documentary

Year: 2000

Runtime: 104 мин

Country: United Kingdom

Director: Kim Longinotto, Jano Williams

Cast: 長与千種, 里村明衣子, Yuka Sugiyama, Saika Takeuchi, 佐々木久子, 北村智子, Sonoko Kato, 前田薫

Plot

This fascinating documentary is based around the Japanese wrestling organisation Gaea's rural training camp, and traces, in the main, the careers of four hopefuls. In charge are two magnificent specimens, the butch champion Chigusa Nagayo, still venting her hurt at the hands of her army father as she tries to whip her surrogate daughters through the pain and commitment barriers; and her sophisticated and slightly menacing Chairman. It's a gruelling, physical film, as you would expect, but the makers don't make heavy weather of it. And it certainly disposes of any idea that the game is faked.