Escapism is a necessary part of life.
Everyone needs a place to relieve themselves from the pressures of existing. Songs and movies have been made about finding that escape, and using a sports movie to explore that theme is an exciting approach. I love sports movies like Rocky, Rush, and Rollerball, but many filmmakers use sports to explore overcoming obstacles, power, or rivalry. The genre feels repetitive at times. Small, Slow, But Steady takes a more meditative approach to the sports movie genre, making for a powerful and relatable cinematic experience.
Taking place in Tokyo during the height of COVID, Small, Slow, But Steady follows Keiko Ogawa (Yukino Kishii), a deaf boxer trying to go pro, and her trainer Katsumi Sasaki (Tomokazu Miura), who’s trying to keep his gym open while battling cancer. The film notes Ogawa’s challenges boxing while deaf without making her deafness the film’s focus. Director Sho Miyake is more interested in exploring how Ogawa uses boxing to escape her stress. He focuses heavily on Ogawa’s quiet workout outs and training, amplifying the sounds of her workouts, along with rhythmic editing and pacing. He perfectly captures her inner peace at the gym. When Sasaki talks about Ogawa’s work in the ring, he describes the “nothingness” a boxer feels in a match when they shut everything out, and their only thoughts are in the ring. Miyake captures the serenity Ogawa finds in that nothingness perfectly.
The film’s compelling because the desire for escapism makes Ogawa and Sasaki’s drive uniquely personal. Miyake’s focus on Ogawa’s work and Sasaki’s illness, contrasted with their enthusiasm for training, highlights how necessary boxing is to them. His use of COVID perfectly adds a foreboding atmosphere to the film, providing an existential threat for Ogawa and Sasaki. For the leads, the fight isn’t to overcome an opponent or their limitations; it’s to protect their realm where they can be free, the gym. Defending their oasis of peace is incredibly relatable, even if you’re not an athlete.
Small, Slow, But Steady is a contemplative, rhythmic film that’ll attract boxing and non-boxing fans alike. Aided by solid performances and a deeply relatable story, Miyake crafted a charming film that feels timeless while strikingly modern. Anyone struggling with finding calm and serenity will find comfort in the film, seeing themselves in Ogawa or Sasaki. Small, Slow, But Steady epitomizes how inner peace is worth fighting for.
Small, Slow But Steady will be playing at the IFC Center on February 10th and 14th as part of the ACA CINEMA PROJECT: NEW FILMS FROM JAPAN 2023.
