Fighter

Colour, 35 mm
Denmark, 2007, 100 min
Section: Variety Critics’ Choice

Synopsis

The headstrong daughter of conservative Turkish immigrants in Copenhagen tries to meet her uneducated parents’ high expectations while remaining true to her private passion – kung fu – in Fighter. Quality teen drama boasts an appealingly feisty heroine and high-energy martial arts action choreographed by Xian Gao (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). Between familial duties and devotion to her sport, high-school student Aicha (Semra Turan) has little time for schoolwork, and certainly none for a boyfriend. Although her traditional father forbids it, Aicha joins an elite kung fu club run by a strict Chinese sifu (Gao) who secretly admires her spunk. After advanced student Emil (agile heartthrob Cyron Melville) is ordered to practise with Aicha, the two gradually develop deeper feelings. The graceful young actors, many nonpro with martial-arts experience, lend the story extra credibility.