Kalev

Kalev is a solid and engaging historical sports drama that brings to life a significant yet often overlooked moment in Baltic history-the Estonian basketball team's bid for victory during the final USSR Basketball Championship in 1991, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union. The film captures the era's spirit effectively, from Soviet architecture and fashion to the tense political atmosphere surrounding Estonia's fight for independence. Against the backdrop of current global tensions, this story resonates even more powerfully.

The pacing is commendably brisk, keeping the audience engaged throughout. Performances by Mait Malmsten, Priit Võigemast, and Reimo Sagor stand out, adding emotional depth and sincerity to the film. The decision to focus the narrative through the eyes of the coach and team manager rather than the players offers a refreshing perspective in the sports film genre.

However, Kalev doesn't fully rise to the heights that critics have claimed. Despite being based on an emotionally charged and inspiring true story, the film often feels formulaic. The basketball scenes lack the intensity typically expected in sports dramas, and key players are barely acknowledged, which feels like a missed opportunity.

While the film succeeds in blending historical commentary with sports drama and offers a heartfelt tribute to Estonia's past, it ultimately remains somewhat superficial in character development and emotional stakes. Still, it's a worthwhile watch-especially for those interested in Eastern European history or underdog stories-with a message of resilience and national pride that still holds meaning today.

All in all, Kalev is a compelling watch with historical value, and as someone who is not into sports, I liked it.

Eventhough I am not a big sports fan myself by any means, I quite enjoyed watching "Kalev" as it is gripping, touching, sincere and genuine. The political issues of USSR and Estonia in the 90s are deeply rooted in the narrative, which makes this film not just another sports film about following your hopes and dreams. In contrast to other film about sport competitions (where the concentration is usually on the players/one of the players)"Kalev" leads its plot mostly through the point of view of the team's coach Jaak Salumets and manager Riho Soonik - which puts a nice spin on the sports-film genre. The costumes, haircuts and filming locations were true to the 90s era and the colour palette was not overly bright or radiant which rightly reflected the grim atmosphere in Eastern Europe at that time. I also appreciated the fast pace of the whole film and shorter runtime, which was perfect for this type of film. Although I read that some moments are not historically accurate (such as involment of some players and other historical figures), I can still recommend this film.

I don't really think I related with all the actions in the film, also the political connotations were rather out of date for a modern viewer. At some point you just don't really get involved in what's being shown and what is supposed to be exciting just becomes a little boring.

Probably older men who belong to the generation that were forced to live in the USSR can relate to the narrative and the whole fact of Estonia competing against the giant Russia was considered to be a sort of boost to the national awakening movement, but for a person of a younger generation, it's more like Why am I watching this film.

The film managed to keep a good tempo and stay engaging. Yes, the athletes looked like beer league players at times, but how big is the overlap between actors and basketball players anyway.

It is essentially a feel good drama but it does reflect a historically significant time period and an important achievement in Estonia's sporting history. They try to weave in some of these angles as well as the realities of being a pro basketball player in the Soviet Union (hint: it wasn't the lifestyle Jokic, Embiid and so on enjoy now). Truthfully, I was surprised that Tiit Sokk was presented almost as a bit player when he is perhaps Estonia's greatest basketball player ever.

I did think that a lot of scenes were a bit too instrumentalized, as though it was written by an engineer. Not a ton of subtlety or mystery... every scene seemed to have a pretty explicit purpose. Overall, though, I think people are watching it to learn about or relive this moment of national pride.

It's not quite how it was, I remember the times well and this film is a fairy tale version of the events. Also it is not very interesting, what I mean is it tries to be interesting but at the same time it just doesn't start going and drives around in circles without getting anywhere. Most of the actors are ok but you can see that some of them have not the qualifications to be real basketball players. Well I understand that it's a film and they can't use real players, but it still bothers. I watched this with a young nephew and he found it quite boring because these events aren't really interesting to a younger viewer.