Salita is such a careful, reined-in fellow that one comes away wanting to have seen much more of the men around him.
Comment
04/10/08
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Orthodox Stance (2008)
47 %
Reviews Counted: 17 Fresh: 8 Rotten:9 Average Rating: 5.6/10
Runtime: 82 mins
Synopsis: Dmitriy Salita is a Russian immigrant, professional boxer and a religious Jew. ORTHODOX STANCE portrays Dmitriy's maturation in each of these disparate communities, and the seemingly incompatible cultures and characters working together to support his rare and remarkable devotion to... [More]
Genre: Sports/Recreation
Reviews
1 - 17 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
While it might have made for an intriguing segment on a television newsmagazine show, doesn't sustain itself over the course of a feature-length film.
02/14/08
Top Critic
The fastest and best boxing action around plus a candid look inside the fight business make this a great film for aficionados of the sport. But there is not a lot there for most others.
02/06/08
Hutt's shoddy editing and listless pacing keep the audience regrettably detached from the proceedings.
02/04/08
Hutt's instincts are solid, if occasionally unfocused; he'll be ready to turn pro any day now.
01/29/08
You couldn't be faulted if you thought "Jewish Boxer" might be an oxymoron, but Hutt's devoted documentary introduces us to one powerhouse of an example.
01/28/08
Too many sequences are so poorly recorded that subtitling is required to decipher what is being said.
01/28/08
The film misses several opportunities to be more than a fawning portrait.
01/25/08
Hutt's straightforward presentation tends to flatten out pic's anomalies instead of highlighting them.
01/25/08
Top Critic
While Salita is a charismatic subject, Jason Hutt's documentary feels unfinished; still in his early 20s, Salita's life and career are works in progress.
01/25/08
Salita doesn't see many other conflicts in his twin passions -- which, ultimately, makes for a less-than-gripping story. He's a likable guy and we're happy to watch his successes, but the movie lacks the emotional punch needed to knock us out.
01/25/08
In the intriguingly layered documentary Orthodox Stance, a determined young boxer strives to prove that the laws of God and the laws of the ring need not be at odds.
01/25/08
Top Critic
Jason Hutt’s endearing profile finds the Ukrainian-born Brooklyn émigré in a thoughtful, expressive mood (outside the ring).
01/24/08
Magnificent documentary on Orthodox Jewish fighter who balances his faith with a brutal profession and maintains his humanity in the process.
01/23/08
Salita needs to train and prepare like any other fighter looking to break an opponent's nose in the first round, but all the while he spars with an adversary familiar to us all.
01/18/08
You get the feeling that the real meat of Salita's story will emerge in the next decade. Orthodox Stance is only Chapter One.
01/17/08
1 - 17 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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