The Witches of the Orient
FRANCE - 2021 - 100 MINUTES - IN JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
A FILM BY JULIEN FARAUT
How does a Japanese women’s volleyball team from the late 1950s become an international sensation, feminist role models, the subject of a wildly popular comic book and a still-influential anime? This stranger-than-fiction story is dynamically told by Julien Faraut (JOHN McENROE: IN THE REALM OF PERFECTION), with an ironic twist on the original demeaning moniker, Oriental Witches. A group of Osaka textile workers are transformed into a fiercely competitive volleyball team by their astonishingly ruthless coach whose unconventional techniques emphasize speed and aggression. A record-setting winning streak and a dramatic 1964 Tokyo Olympics triumph follow. Wonderful archival footage of the women in training and on the court, animated versions of their championship games, and moving interviews with the women today are set to a pulsating electronic score.
“I don’t feel like a fish ready to snatch the bait on this film as a positive portrayal of Olympic athletes. It may be a more subtle criticism about the fanaticism of the Olympic games. You may need to read between the lines on this film.” - Set the Bar