''Fair Play'' is a 2014 Czech drama film directed by Andrea Sedláčková. It was selected as the Czech entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 87th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.

Plot

Set in Czechoslovakia in 1983, the film tells the story of Anna, a sprinter who is hoping to compete in the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, and is selected into the national team. She is placed in a special state-run medical treatment where she is given

anabolic steroids Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related and have similar effects t ...

(" Stromba") by her trainer. Her performance increases but later discovers the negative effect of taking the steroids, causing her to stop using them. Anna's father escaped Czechoslovakia for the West which takes a toll of her mother's career, as she is unable to find any decent job. Additionally, she is under frequent surveillance of the secret service. She sees her daughter's participation in the Olympic Games as the opportunity for Anna to emigrate, so she secretly continues to give her the injections of steroids. She also has contacts with her former love Marek, a political dissident for whom she types the essays which are considered hostile to the government, causing her more trouble with the secret service agents. Meanwhile, Anna falls in love and is more and more reluctant to emigrate.

Cast

* Vlastina Svátková as Nurse * Berenika Kohoutová as Anna (voice) *

Anna Geislerová Anna Geislerová, also known as Aňa Geislerová (born 17 April 1976), is a Czech actress. She became well known for her double role of Eliška/Hana in movie '' Želary'' (2003) and as Anna in '' Návrat idiota'' (1999). A former model, Geisler ...

as Irena *

Roman Luknár Roman Luknár (born 1 June 1965) is a Slovak actor. He appeared in more than fifty films since 1988. Selected filmography References External links * 1965 births Living people Actors from Bratislava Slovak male film actors ...

as Bohdan (trainer) *

Judit Bárdos Judit Bárdos, married Pecháček (born 12 May 1988) is a Slovakia, Slovak actress of Hungarians in Slovakia, Hungarian ethnicity. She is the daughter of politician Gyula Bárdos and journalist Ágnes Bárdos. Bárdos won the Best Actress Award at ...

as Anna *

Eva Josefíková Eva or EVA may refer to: * Eva (name), a feminine given name Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Eva (Dynamite Entertainment), a comic book character by Dynamite Entertainment * Eva (Devil May Cry), Eva (''Devil May Cry''), ...

as Marina * Michaela Pavlátová as Mother of Tomás

Production

The film was shot in Prague,

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, and Vysoké Tatry and in Germany. The scenes in Karl-Marx-Stadt (now

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany a ...

) were filmed in today's Chemnitz (

Karl Marx Monument The Karl Marx Monument (german: Karl-Marx-Monument) is a 7.10m (23.29ft)-tall stylized head of Karl Marx in Chemnitz, Germany. The heavy-duty sculpture, together with the base platform, stand over 13 meters (42 feet) tall and weighs approximate ...

) and in Dresden (the Heinz-Steyer-Stadion was used as the film set for the stadium in Karl-Marx-Stadt). Judit Bárdos and Eva Josefíková went through athletic training for six months prior to filming, in order to be able to perform the running scenes realistically. Nonetheless, doubles replaced the main actors in certain scenes. The title song was recorded by

Miro Žbirka Miro or Miró may refer to: Companies * Miro Company, a French game manufacturer * Miro Technologies, a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) software supplier from California * Pinnacle Systems, Miro Video series of the video capture cards * Me ...

in the London

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

Reception

Stephen Dalton of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' gave ''Fair Play'' a positive review, calling it " a gripping tale of grace under pressure".

Accolades

''Fair Play'' was submitted by the Czech Film and Television Academy as an Oscar candidate, but did not get nominated. The film received four nominations for the Czech Film Critics Award, but won none. It also received the largest number of nominations (15) for the 2014 Czech Lion Awards, but did not win any; however, it did receive the Film Fans Award and the non-statutory award for Best Film Poster.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fair Play 2014 films 2014 drama films 2010s sports drama films Czech sports drama films Croatian-language films Films about the 1984 Summer Olympics Films about Olympic track and field Films about doping Slovak drama films