“Until you see the bottom, there is no chance”

The documentary film “Emelianenko” by Valeria Gai Germanika is released

The amazing is nearby. Auteur films have difficulty breaking through to the big screens. And the doc “Emelianenko” by Valeria Gai Germanika (now she should be called Gaia Germanika), thanks to KARO/ART, was awarded a premiere in the main hall of “October” (quite successful, with a heated discussion afterwards), and then released, albeit in limited release. With polar - sometimes admiring, sometimes angry - reviews. Because the film not only “touches a nerve” - it scalds you, then suddenly makes you laugh and again plunges you into shock.

So, hero. Bogatyr, two meters tall, MMA fighter, multiple world champion in combat sambo in the heavyweight division. The author immediately breaks the stereotypes of sports drama. From the very first frames it is obvious: she is presenting a rare frankness to an unceremonious portrait from an extremely close distance. The film was filmed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the first months of 2020, when the 38-year-old athlete was preparing for a fight with Magomed Ismailov. Opening credit: "After two years of inactivity, this may be the last chance." "Downtime"? We see this “downtime” firsthand. Triumphs and medals are in the past. Now there is reckless, unstoppable drunkenness. Despite the persuasion of his loved ones, the scandalous Gulliver walks with a staggering gait to the store, stocking up on strong stuff. He fraternizes with a fan who is head over heels in love with him and immediately humiliates him in an unbearable way. He spreads a blissful smile in dreams of his bride, misses his daughter... And strangles the hookah man in the restaurant - well, he didn’t like it... He offends the “call lady”. He starts a drunken brawl in a private hotel and is taken to the police station. You never know whether he will kiss you or strangle you. The same thing with the film. It's a swing: from curiosity, sympathy, laughter - to disgust, from pity - to disgust. We are following this spiritual cliff, a moral flight over the abyss, along the edge. Amazed by the resourcefulness and cunning of the hawk moth, who is ready to fool his loved ones and himself with promises.

Emelianenko is a brave and unsparing exploration of an issue that affects millions. According to WHO estimates, about 20% of Russians are subject to heavy episodic drinking. And add to this the number of traumatized loved ones.

By the way, it’s interesting about loved ones. After all, they all see not only this creature degrading before their eyes, peeing in the hotel lobby... But also the trail of his overcomings, his championship. And this seems to justify abuse, breakdowns and rudeness... Ex-wife Polina, new chosen one Anna convince themselves that they are able to save him. Rescuers bravely enter into codependent relationships, gradually turning into victims of abuse. With eyes wide shut, they even try to justify... Faithful friend and manager Victor faces the truth, but does not give up, pulls Alexander out of the funnel of binge drinking. And the coach no longer believes in a cure - the green snake has never let anyone go. Some enlightenment occurs during training in Grozny, in the Akhmat fight club, which is supervised by Kadyrov. After Emelianenko’s rehabilitation, it seems that he is “back.” Ramzan himself (still in excellent shape) takes care of him “brotherly” and trains together with the Russian fighter, who is surrounded by fanatical boys on the street.

The climax is the decisive battle with Magomed Ismailov, who closely follows the training of the champion who has strained his strength... A cruel, unforgettable scene in which there is more blood than sweat.

The whole story is a disastrous flight with stops at the front. For example, at home with his mother, whom Alexander is not exactly afraid of, but almost humbly obeys. He arrives with a bouquet and listens to reproaches without complaint. Mom is strict not only with her son, but also with the director. Refuses to tell “camera-Lera” about their trouble: “I’m fine.” Looking at a photograph with Lera in which Emelianenko is next to Putin, he is indignant: “What kind of Putin is this! I don’t know or what…” Alexander, following his mother’s orders, goes to the cemetery to look for his father’s grave under the snow. Will not find...

Time is running away from him - he can’t catch up. It’s such a waste of talent... All because of this reckless, without boundaries character (in the author’s version - quite typological), in the contrasts of which there is almost no room left for tenderness.

Cinema without any moralizing, the very matter of life - shock therapy is purer than horror and any anti-alcohol propaganda. But more broadly, this is a movie about how addiction eats up humanity from the inside. It is this battle - with himself, disappearing - that Emelianenko almost loses, giving himself over to recklessness and a whirlwind of passions. A virtually incurable dark disease.

The author’s ethical position lies in the frankness of “skinless cinema,” presenting the hero in physical and emotional intimacy, without cinematic flair and without the right to indulgence.

The camera is always there, day and night, “from hand” it catches all the changes in mood and state, “undressing” more clearly than any mirror, without panache or embellishment: from the arrogance of a triumphant man basking in the glory and the consciousness of his own strength - to confusion, fear of loneliness, the longing of meeting with inner demons. It is edited like a feature film and looks like a genre film. Yes, there is not enough light in this film. But Vysotsky’s final “Finicky Horses” not only gives hope, but highlights the inner protest behind the despair and anguish (rather of the author than the hero) as a precarious chance to stop life being carried away, as the last opportunity to choose.

The uniqueness of the premiere show. Alexander Emelianenko watches the film with us for the first time. He goes on stage and says in tense silence that the picture is strong and honest. He went through rehabilitation. Now in a rehabilitation center he helps others cope with addiction. The most difficult thing was to feel the bottom... as a fulcrum. Until you see the bottom, there is no chance.

The film will help him.

The film “Emelianenko” was awarded the Dziga Vertov National Prize in the category “Best Film” in the field of non-fiction cinema (2025).

Grand Prix of the International Film Festival “Unknown Russia”.

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