Fighter (2007) - Arthy makes good youth drama with propulsive kung fu

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Kung Fu Movie of the Year

Semra Turan as the titular fighter sends a determined stare on this simple but effective poster for Natascha Arthy's Fighter

Aicha is a young woman in Denmark with Turkish roots, whose life sometimes is a balancing act for her between the sweet Danish boy she is fond of, her obdurate Muslim family, school life and her passion for kung fu.

Fighter, written by great Danish filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel (Catch that Girl/Klatretøsen (2002)), Rasmus Heisterberg (A Royal Affair/En Kongelig Affære (2012)) and co-writer-director Natascha Arthy (Old, New, Borrowed and Blue/Se til Venstre, Der Er En Svensker (2003)), is a surprisingly good Danish youth martial arts romance-drama with social realism elements.
Debuting Semra Turan (The Protectors/Livvagterne (2009), TV-series) and Cyron Melville (Love and Rage/Vanvittig Forelsket (2009)) do well in the main parts, and the drama is gripping. Aicha as a character follows the classic recipe of getting mowed over for much of the film in Fighter, - only to charge back like a cannonball for its climax.
The film's scoop is undoubtedly its signing of Xian Gao (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)) to choreograph the fights and stunts, which raises Fighter and makes it stand out as something of a rarity in Danish cinema; an actual Danish martial arts film.
Minor flaws and repetitions don't defeat this solid cultural gulf/kung fu gem.

Related post:

2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch the Danish trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown - reportedly 4 mil. $
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertain - but likely a flop, perhaps even a mega-flop
[Fighter was released 14 December (Denmark) and runs 100 minutes. Shooting took place between October 2006 - March 2007 in Copenhagen, Denmark. 52,189 paid admission to see it in its native Denmark, far from enough to let it get near to success, - especially if the reported 4 mil. $ budget is accurate. It was released in several other markets including at 14 festivals. Without numbers from its other markets, its status can only be tentatively set to that of flop. It was nominated for 3 Bodil awards (the Danish film critics' awards). Turan has only had a part in the Danish The Protectors/Livvagterne TV-series in 2009 since the film. Arthy returned directing TV-series Lulu & Leon (2009), The Killing/Forbrydelsen (2012) and Heartless (2014) and theatrically with the panned comedy Comeback (2015). 1,351 IMDb users have given Fighter a 6.6/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Fighter?