Frederick Wiseman, the master of cinema verite, and cinematographer John Davey take us inside an Austin, Texas boxing gym for a fly-on-the-wall look at men, women and children in training to achieve their personal bests in the ring.
Sit Ups and Set Ups
Without the guidance of voice over narration or titles of any sort, we observe a broad cast of characters, ranging from crusty older men to little girls with golden locks, as they do sit ups, lunges, weight lifting, punching and ducking routines in their relentless pursuit of perfection in the art of boxing. They are under the tutelage of trainer Richard Lord, who encourages them to strive to improve and gives them instructions about how to do so. Lord is an interesting character who is, quite surprisingly, nonviolent in his approach to a violent sport. At one point, when he's accepting a young man as a student and gym member, he asks for assurances that his new protegee has come to learn the art, and isn't there to pick up skills with which he can seek revenge for some past infraction against him.
Other than Lord's comments to his trainees and their sporadic discussions with each other, there is no commentary in the film. Nor is there any music. The soundtrack is all ambient sound -- boxing gloves against punching bags, heavy breathing and grunts of exertion, jump ropes whirring through the air and hitting the floor. All natural sound. Only natural sound.
Wiseman's take on his subject is expressed through camera framing and angle, and through editing. Wiseman presents his perspective so unobtrusively you're almost unaware that he's there as a filter between you and the events you're watching. It's a wonderful approach to documentary filmmaking, and Boxing Gym is a wonderful film to watch.
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Film Details:
- Boxing Gym
- Director: Frederick Wiseman
- Release Date: Premiere Cannes Film Festival 2010
- Running Time: 91 mins.
- Parental Advisory: Content advisory for parents
- Country: USA
- Location: Austin, Texas
- Language: English
- Company: Zipporah Films
