Fair Play (2014 film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Fair Play

| image = Fair Play (film).jpg

| caption = Film poster

| director = Andrea Sedláčková

| producer = Kateřina Černá
Pavel Strnad

| writer = Irena Hejdová
Andrea Sedláčková

| starring = Anna Geislerová
Judit Bárdos
Roman Luknár

| music = Miro Žbirka
David Solař

| cinematography = Jan Baset Střítežský

| editing = Jakub Hejna

| distributor = Falcon

| released = {{Film date|2014|3|6|df=yes}}

| runtime = 100 minutes

| country = Czech Republic
Slovakia

| language = Czech

| budget = {{CZK|36 million|link=yes}}{{cite web|title=Fair Play |url=http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/kultura/zpravy/fair-play/1038503 |website=Českénoviny.cz |publisher=Czech News Agency |access-date=3 February 2014 |language=Czech |date=3 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221102513/http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/kultura/zpravy/fair-play/1038503 |archive-date=21 February 2014 }}

}}

Fair Play is a 2014 Czech drama film directed by Andrea Sedláčková. It was selected as the Czech entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-czechs-nominate-andrea-sedlackovas-733953 |title=Oscars: Czechs Nominate Andrea Sedlackova's 'Fair Play' in Foreign-Language Category |accessdate=18 September 2014 |work=Hollywood Reporter}}

Plot

Set in Czechoslovakia in 1983, the film tells the story of Anna, a sprinter who is hoping to compete in the Olympics, and is selected into the national team. She is placed in a special state-run medical treatment where she is given anabolic steroids ("Stromba") by her trainer. Her performance increases but later discovers the negative effect of taking the steroids, causing her to stop using them.

Anna's father escaped Czechoslovakia for the West which takes a toll of her mother's career, as she is unable to find any decent job. Additionally, she is under frequent surveillance of the secret service. She sees her daughter's participation in the Olympic Games as the opportunity for Anna to emigrate, so she secretly continues to give her the injections of steroids. She also has contacts with her former love Marek, a political dissident for whom she types the essays which are considered hostile to the government, causing her more trouble with the secret service agents. Meanwhile, Anna falls in love and is more and more reluctant to emigrate.

Cast

Vlastina Svátková as Nurse
Berenika Kohoutová as Anna (voice)
Anna Geislerová as Irena
Roman Luknár as Bohdan (trainer)
Judit Bárdos as Anna
Eva Josefíková as Marina
Michaela Pavlátová as Mother of Tomás

Production

The film was shot in Prague, Bratislava, and Vysoké Tatry and in Germany.{{cite web|title=Andrea Sedláčková se kvůli Fair Play pustila do dopingového programu|url=http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/kultura/217134-andrea-sedlackova-se-kvuli-fair-play-pustila-do-dopingoveho-programu/|website=ČT24|accessdate=6 February 2016|language=Czech|date=1 March 2013}}{{cite web|title=Film details for Fair Play (German Federal Archives)|url=https://apps.bundesarchiv.de/filmreg/f?p=108:121:0::NO::P121_ID_CINEMATOGRAPHIC,P121_PREVIOUS_PAGE:1433,20|accessdate=9 August 2020|language=German}} The scenes in Karl-Marx-Stadt (now Chemnitz) were filmed in today's Chemnitz (Karl Marx Monument) and in Dresden (the Heinz-Steyer-Stadion was used as the film set for the stadium in Karl-Marx-Stadt).{{cite web|title=Filming locations in Germany for Fair Play (Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung)|url=https://www.mdm-online.de/DRSuche_load.do?pk=%252354rUObIlPpA%253D|accessdate=9 August 2020|language=German}} Judit Bárdos and Eva Josefíková went through athletic training for six months prior to filming, in order to be able to perform the running scenes realistically. Nonetheless, doubles replaced the main actors in certain scenes.{{cite web|title=Judit Bárdos: "V herectví se dopovat nedá."|url=http://www.kinobox.cz/clanek/8668-judit-bardos-v-herectvi-se-dopovat-neda|website=Kinobox.cz|accessdate=6 February 2016|language=Czech|date=4 February 2014}}

The title song was recorded by Miro Žbirka in the London Abbey Road Studios.{{cite web|last1=Vedral|first1=Honza|title=VIDEO: Miro Žbirka natočil v Abbey Road píseň k filmu o dopingu|url=http://kultura.idnes.cz/zbirka-klip-fair-play-05t-/hudba.aspx?c=A140129_222246_hudba_vdr|website=iDNES.cz|accessdate=6 February 2016|language=Czech|date=30 January 2014}}

Reception

Stephen Dalton of The Hollywood Reporter gave Fair Play a positive review, calling it " a gripping tale of grace under pressure".{{Cite web |last=Dalton |first=Stephen |last2= |first2= |date=2014-07-21 |title=‘Fair Play’: Karlovy Vary Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/fair-play-karlovy-vary-review-719831/ |access-date=2022-04-10 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}

Accolades

Fair Play was submitted by the Czech Film and Television Academy as an Oscar candidate, but did not get nominated.

The film received four nominations for the Czech Film Critics Award, but won none.{{cite web|title=Nominace|url=http://www.filmovakritika.cz/2014/nominace.html|website=Ceny české filmové kritiky|access-date=6 February 2016|language=Czech|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306090155/http://www.filmovakritika.cz/2014/nominace.html|archive-date=6 March 2016|url-status=dead}} It also received the largest number of nominations (15) for the 2014 Czech Lion Awards, but did not win any; however, it did receive the Film Fans Award and the non-statutory award for Best Film Poster.{{cite web|title=ČFTA Awards / 2014 / Nominations|url=http://www.filmovaakademie.cz/en/2014/nominations|website=ČFTA|publisher=Czech Film and Television Academy|accessdate=6 February 2016}}