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 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.