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Unclenching the Fists
SummaryAda is stuck, living in a dead-end industrial town in the North Ossetia section of Russia. Between her domineering father, obsessive younger brother, and an unrelenting suitor, she is caught in the tight grip of the many men in her life. When her older brother returns home and her father suddenly falls ill, Ada finally sees a possible path to ind...

Unclenching the Fists

Metascore
Generally Favorable
68
User score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
My Score

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Metascore
Generally Favorable
68
70% Positive
7 Reviews
30% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
May 22, 2023
80
The Guardian
Aguzarova is quietly phenomenal, never more so than in the sex scene where, holding her curled-up hands away from Tamik’s body, she manages to be coy, conflicted, detached, expectant and amused all at once.
Jul 17, 2021
79
TheWrap
The film is a dark slice of neorealism with a palpable sense of claustrophobia that Ada feels in her life and in her family. But her relationship to what is essentially imprisonment is odd and complex; she seems desperate to get out and exercise some control of her life, but there are strange cracks in that desperation, signs that she’s terrified of what even a modicum of freedom and control might bring.
Sep 12, 2021
75
Slant Magazine
Unclenching the Fists is a tale of how the desolation of a nation inhabits and engraves a woman’s body.
Sep 5, 2021
75
IndieWire
Unclenching the Fists turns out to be hardly the neorealist dip into misery that some of the film’s more disconnected camerawork from DP Pavel Fomintsev promises.
Sep 30, 2021
67
The Film Stage
The experience is nothing if not grueling, and Fists‘ willingness to heap misery on characters who are already truly down ultimately leaves a callous taste in the mouth.
May 25, 2023
60
The New York Times
Ada’s psychological tumult is captured in intimate close-ups and fluttering camera movements, while the absence of a score complements the film’s uneasy mood of pent-up rage and stifling despair.
Jul 17, 2021
50
Screen Daily
Overall, the film’s treatment of a sensitive scenario lacks subtlety, making for a tough and taxing viewing experience.
See All 10 Critic Reviews
User score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
33% Positive
1 Rating
67% Mixed
2 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
May 28, 2023
8
bertobellamy
In 'Unclenching the Fists,' a woman craves independence in a male-dominated environment. Milana Aguzarova's child-like Ada slowly transforms into a self-determined character ready to leave his controlling father. Director Kira Kovalenko delivers a bleak tale of how emotional violence is used as the ultimate weapon to subdue women. But when another violent context around the protagonist and her family is unraveled, this becomes a tale about survival, trauma, and how we deal with pain.
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May 30, 2023
4
alanpotter17
Mais um filme sobre dominação masculina centrada na história de uma irmã e seus mais dois irmãos, mas dessa vez particularmente senti uma grande dificuldade de conexão. Basicamente todos os quadros filmados parecem sugerir certo lirismo, cenas do cotidiano. Ficou um tédio geral. O filme inicia com a irmã em uma cena bem lúdica, brincando inocentemente. O roteiro então introduz o outro irmão que estava ausente, e nesta simbiose quase a la Malick vamos percebendo a ligação entre eles. O pai parece encarnar aquele personagem típico do patriarcado, com olhares rígidos e postura truculenta. Mas sinceramente, senti que tudo aquilo era mera perfumaria, um amontoado de clichês. O roteiro não explica porque não faz questão mesmo, o trauma que a menina e o pai sofreram, dando a entender que houve um episódio pretérito influenciando inclusive na relação da menina com a mãe e impactando a saúde dela e do pai. No entanto, a conta para o pai, dado a idade, é mais pesada, e ainda de forma meio controversa moralmente falando, é esta doença que servirá de passagem para o desabrochar da jovem e até mesmo de seus irmãos. Olha, sinceramente não sei o que viram para apoiar tamanha aberração humana. Sim, há algumas passagens líricas, e pelo menos o roteiro ficou sutil, mas o fato é que o filme abraça o tal "há males que vem para o bem". É o tal ódio do bem?
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See All 3 User Reviews
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Production Company:
  • Non-Stop Productions
  • AR Content
  • Wild Bunch International
Release Date:May 26, 2023
Duration:1 h 37 m
Genres:

Awards

Russian Guild of Film Critics
• 3 Wins & 5 Nominations
Nika Awards
• 5 Nominations
Denver Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
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