Nyad
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, USA, 2023o
L'histoire de la nageuse américaine Diana Nyad qui, en 2013, à l'âge de 64 ans, avec l'aide de sa meilleure amie et d'un équipage de 35 supporters, est devenue la première personne à parcourir à la nage les 170 kilomètres séparant Cuba de la Floride sans cage à requins. Cette traversée réussie avait été précédée de plusieurs tentatives infructueuses qui avaient poussé Nyad dans ses derniers retranchements.
For mere mortals, the undertaking seems completely insane: American long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad set out to swim 177 kilometers from Cuba to Key West in Florida, through dangerous currents, without rest or protection from sharks. On her fifth attempt, she made it in 53 hours in September 2013 - by then Nyad was already 64 years old. Now Nyad's memoir has been adapted for Netflix. The film follows the stages of the extreme sports biography in a somewhat formulaic way, from team building, the inevitable setbacks and perseverance to the expected triumph. What makes it worth seeing, however, is the cinematic visualization of extreme situations: Jellyfish, pain, the overwhelming power of nature. Even more worth seeing is the interaction of a stunning - and also stunningly sympathetic - pair of actresses: Annette Bening embodies Diane Nyad in a physically credible way, as a strong, yet highly self-referential and difficult personality. Jodie Foster is her physical and psychological equal as a coach and lifelong friend. Thus Nyad is also a film about a female friendship; the fact that both women are also lesbians is addressed quite casually.
Kathrin HalterGalerie photoso
