The number of elite athletes (current and already retired) per capita was very high in the cinema hall of one of the plazas in Budapest. In addition to the main character Áron Szilágyi, Jenő Kamuti, András Szatmári, Tamás Decsi, András Decsi, István Decsi, Emese Szász-Kovács came to the premiere, but in addition to fencers, other sports were also represented: handball through Tamás Mocsai and László Nagy. , Zsolt Laczkó (football), Dávid Tóth (kayak-canoe), Zsolt Mórádi (kick-boxing).
The director, András Pires Muhi, has already practiced in the world of sports films: in 2006 he directed the documentary Magyarfutball, 91. minut, making his debut in the profession. In 2016, perhaps his most well-known sports documentary to date was made, the Hungarian team accompanying the national team’s European Championship, with the title of 50 more minutes. But why did you choose fencing and Aaron Szilágyi this time?
Communication about sports is usually crowded in commonplaces, and I found something completely different at Aaron. He is a multidimensional elite athlete character, a thinking person, I could compare him to András Balczó. I grew up in a fencing ethos, my father – who is a film producer anyway – was a Hungarian champion. Sport is a homely medium for me, I know the jargon and the language. During filming, Aaron showed himself to be an authentic, precise, diverse personality. He didn’t have many ideas for filming, but he can analyze what happened very deeply
He said to the Index Muhi András Pires, and added: Áron Szilágyi is an infinitely modest man, but at the same time a huge ego athlete who is able to operate them simultaneously.
The film starts with the best moments of Áron Szilágyi so far: childhood successes, becoming an adult, a wonderful Olympic championship title in London, and then a similarly amazing title defense four years later in Rio. Complete catharsis, but only for a few minutes. Then we drop back into reality, in the gray everyday life after the Olympics. Preparation begins again. Áron Szilágyi runs, strengthens, trains in the fencing hall, and then competes from race to race.
We can get to know the members of the sword team, the protagonist tells about his strengths and weaknesses about everyone. By the way, Áron Szilágyi is the narrator almost throughout the film, and the interviews with him give the dynamics of the work. We can relive the acne-prone moments of the 2017 Leipzig World Cup, thanks to the documentary character, the viewer gets excited about each ass as if he has flown back in time. The dramatic moments experienced in the locker room after the competition make the film truly unique, the viewer can see unprecedented sequences of images of an athlete’s grief and pain.
In the meantime, we can get to know Áron Szilágyi’s sweetheart, psychologist, masseuse and coaches. The two-time Olympic champion also submits his dissertation between two asses, and laughs and admits that he has indeed slipped by a few years by the deadline. Of course, this is a forgivable sin, it is difficult to reconcile learning with elite sports.
The 2019 World Cup in Budapest is the last big competition in the film, a soul-lifting scene as the silver medal team sings the anthem together with the fans in the corridor of the László Papp Sports Arena. We arrive in 2020, the coronavirus epidemic has arrived, the Olympics are postponed for a year. However, Áron Szilágyi does not stop, he trains even harder and finishes his third five-ring gold medal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7y4vT8uUN8
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I drew a lot of experience and motivation from the shootings and the editing process. The work took a long time, sometimes perhaps even depressing, but it moved me mentally all the way through. It was never our goal to be more sympathetic to me as a “hero,” but to make the film as exciting, drifting, and truthful as possible. We wanted to make a film that could be cathartic, informative, and entertaining for anyone, regardless of age, gender, or social class, even someone who hadn’t been preoccupied with fencing at all before. This project was an unforgettable adventure, I think not only for me, but for the whole national team. I hope that the audience will appreciate it, there is a lot of work in it – such as Áron Szilágyi from the documentary One for Everyone.
The film was made up of 600 hours of raw material taken on 100 filming days, on a relatively low budget. András Muhi foresaw the days and periods for which more energy should be set aside, and as a director-producer he practically made the lion’s part of the film on his own. To his question, he said: his father helped him a lot, especially with his sports professional insights.
Áron Szilágyi will enter the past on the first day of the Tokyo Olympics, on July 24, when the individual fights of the male swordsmen will be organized. The team competition will be held four days later, on July 28th.
(Cover image: Áron Szilágyi fights in a 2017 Grand Prix. Photo: Alexander Shcherbak / TASS / Getty Images Hungary)
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