Fighter

I watched this movie with no prior knowledge of it, and was immediately sucked into the film. It is a film that is beautiful to look at and has the ability to evoke emotions within the viewer causing them to live the story with the main character. The cinematography was absolutely wonderful, and served to make the film somehow realistic and surreal at the same time. The soundtrack was perfect and each song seemed to compliment the moments on screen, but was almost a character in and of itself. The acting was believable and realistic and the star of the movie "Aicha" really makes the audience connect with her and feel her plight, and the choreography of the fight scenes was wonderful. I was so pleasantly surprised by this movie and it is one that I will absolutely have to recommend to friends.

A beautiful and touching movie that deserves a wider viewing than it is likely to get. Semra Turan plays Aicha, a second generation Turkish immigrant, who tries to break the mold. Neither entirely at home with her moderately conservative Muslim family, nor with her liberal Danish friends, Aicha's martial arts experience becomes a fight to find herself and have the strength to allow herself to be who she wants to be in spite of both family and friends.

Director Natasha Arthy manages to balance introspection and narrative so that it has depth without becoming ponderous philosophical discourse, and drawing on Xian Gao's choreography skills pays off in spectacular fight sequences. In the end, however, it is Semra Turan's stunning debut performance that gives this movie spirit. Raw charisma and requisite martial arts skills are complimented by heart to make her personal drama believable.

Well worth your while.

Cinematography--Compared to 'The Wrestler,' a degree of verite and cinematic skill that disarms the viewer, and then hypnotizes as well.

Acting--The dialogue is minimal, but the pauses and silence poignant.

Story--The conflict in a 'balkanized' Denmark is volatile, as we saw recently jihad murders in the Netherlands and riots in France. While I harbor no love for Islam, the departure from the West from Christian values holds no cause for celebration.

The director of this film managed to mirror the two societies in a way that belabored neither, emphasizing the development of Aicha as an individual who became a champion, not so much in the ring, but to all those around her. Even her worst . . . I will stop here to avoid the spoiler.

i found this little independent gem to be well crafted.it's about a Turkish girl living in Copenhagen,who wants to do her own thing,but her family being very conservative Muslims have their owns plans for her.the title obviously gives much of the plot away.but there's more to the movie than that.there's the cultural divide,and the gender bias as well.the fighting scenes are very well choreographed and are very elegant,almost balletic.there are no fancy camera tricks here.i was also impressed with the lead actress Semra Turan.i also like the ending.it wasn't your typical ending.then again,this isn't your typical movie.i'd say it's well worth a watch.for me,Fighter is a 9/10

I hit the couch to eat lunch and turned on Sundance channel and came in at the first third of the movie . . . didn't leave the couch. Good movie. As in the other movie reviews there is no real new story line here, but what caught me was the lighting. Shots were she is with her family are shot in darker lighting and when Semra is in the environment her heart wants to be in (ex. Kung Fu studio) the lighting is much brighter. Simple little things like this and the floating camera (?) make it a good MOVIE and add power to the story and the acting. I don't know if it was intentional, but Semra's "less is more" acting really helped sell the internal struggle she was going through to deal with the chains of Turkish societal and familial expectations. Now I can't wait to see it again from start to finish - and with my 12 year old daughter who just started serious training in sports. Should be required watching for girls in Jr. High.