In the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, aerial skier Lydia Lassila carved out her own slice of sporting history. The Will to Fly charts the lead up to and pinnacle of her professional success: an attempt to complete the quadruple twisting triple somersault, a feat only men had previously accomplished on skis. Though the details of her pursuits are a matter of public record, tension isn’t absent from the celebratory documentary that follows her efforts. Watching an athlete fling herself several stories into the air comes complete with inbuilt drama, after all; witnessing the preparation, understanding the personal toll and examining her impact upon her chosen field does as well.
The film starts, as Lassila’s story does, with a young girl desperate to keep up with her older brothers, then similarly motivated to channel her can-do attitude into a youthful gymnastics career. When injury hampered her hopes and an opportunity to switch beams and mats for skis and slopes came up, she jumped — literally. Not one to let her snow-free childhood stop her, she persevered, overcoming her inexperience and several physical setbacks through dedication, conviction, a determined mindset, and the sheer force of her personality. As competitor Jacqui Cooper recalls in one of the feature’s many talking-heads interviews, Lassila was so filled with confidence when they initally met that the newcomer called the world champion an ‘acrobatic moron’.
First-time full-length filmmakers Katie Bender and Leo Baker, the former an ex-aerial skier herself, flavour their factual chronicle of Lassila’s journey with equal parts edge-of-your-seat thrills and inspirational beating-the-odds emotion. Whether you’re a sports fan who can remember the outcome at Sochi, or someone with little knowledge of the area and its heroes, the path The Will to Fly traverses isn’t hard to predict. Indeed, its structure and score mimic those of many previous accounts of heroes, athletic and otherwise. As the film steps through the ups and downs of Lassila’s endeavours, and sets its compilation of on-screen chats and action clips to a soundtrack that alternates between histrionic and rousing, it rarely delves into unexpected territory — but that’s not what makes or breaks the movie.
Documentaries designed to applaud their central figures, dissect their difficulties, and demonstrate their triumphs often find their fortunes tied to two elements: candour and character. Thankfully, there’s no lack of either as friends, family members, coaches and colleagues share their thoughts and feelings about Lassila, their own experiences, and aerial skiing in general. Discussions with fellow trailblazers in the sport such as Cooper, Kirstie Marshall and Alisa Camplin help flesh out the background behind Australia’s prominence, while the arrival of Lassila’s scene-stealing son Kai emphasises the personal stakes. And then, amidst the honest interviews, harrowing archival recordings and intimate footage that Bender and Baker captured during their two-year shoot before and during Sochi, there’s the influence of the woman in the spotlight.
The Will to Fly may ape many movies of its ilk by approaching its subject in standard congratulatory fashion; however whenever Lassila is in the frame — be it flipping in mid air or talking straight to the camera — there’s no doubting the rationale behind the co-writer/director’s choice. Her irrepressible outlook infects the documentary, offering more enthusiasm, excitement and insight than creative stylistic touches ever could. That she remains the feature’s driving force is by design, of course, but the film remains all the better for adopting her attitude. The end result is simple: when Lassila soars, so does the classically made but still cheer-inducing documentary.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
The Will to Fly
Directors: Katie Bender and Leo Baker
Australia, 2016 119 mins
Release date: March 10
Distributor: Binding Films
Rated: G
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