Simon Lereng Wilmont: Chikara
with the subtitle ”The Sumo Wrestler’s Son” – is a fine documentary for children. The production company Final Cut for Real estimates the primary target audience to be between 6 and 12, but it is also one of those films that easily can be watched by the whole family or in a school class with a follow-up talk on many issues.
Actually is places itself very well in the Danish tradition for making quality Films for children avoiding a heavy, well-meaning educational aim. Which does not exclude that you, from a well-made and well-told film, can have good conversations about competition, about sport, about training hard to be better, about the relationship between father and son, where the father – that’s what the son thinks – pushes him to be like himself, but where the ending of the film, where Chikara manages to get into the Top 16, but had hoped for more, shows the father and mother happy with his performance.
The building of the film is simple – Chikara trains for the big competition, he meets obstacles, he says at a point that he likes to watch sumo but not to perform, but he does so for the sake of the father in a competitive environment that you on the other hand don’t feel as cruel as you have seen in other films from Japan, where this sport for BIG kids and adults is BIG.
The effort to make documentaries for children is commendable and I was happy to learn from the producer Monica Hellström that this film is part of a series of 6 films, produced by Nordic companies. The Norwegians have asked Viktor Kossakovsky to take part. Danish Simon Lereng Wilmont is making a film about a Danish boy, who practises the fencing sport. More documentaries for kids? Yes, Please!
Denmark, 2013, 32 mins.
