Gaea Girls

Sturdy women, the Japanese gaea girls. Not plump buffers like the sumo wrestlers, but compact ladies with short hair and broad shoulders. In the wrestling ring, they wear glittering tight-fitting suits, hurling their opponents above their heads and onto the floor as if they are handling a bag of potatoes. 'They are so full of life in the ring', aspiring wrestler Takeuchi Saika sighs at the start of Kim Longinotto's Gaea Girls. 'That's what I want to be like!' Takeuchi wants to be noticed and is prepared to give her blood, sweat and tears for this aim. She endures humiliation after humiliation, as it gradually becomes clear that she lacks the necessary strength. The English filmmaker Kim Longinotto films newcomer Takeuchi in the gaea girls' training camp. She also follows Takeuchi's coaches Satumora and Nagayo into the wrestling ring, where a good gaea girl only gives up when she is nearly dead.Previously, Longinotto made documentaries about the standards and rules applying in different (sub-)cultures. Rock Wives, for example, dealt with the women and girlfriends of rock stars, and Divorce Iranian Style with family jurisdiction in Teheran. As in these earlier films, in Gaea Girls Longinotto keeps a respectful distance from her subject and observes the daily goings-on in the training camp without any comments. Still, her sober portrait of this almost fascist milieu, where every moment of weakness leads to degradation, is shocking to watch. To reach their moments of glory, the wrestlers first have to go through hell and back.