Synopsis:

This documentary looks at women's wrestling in Japan, following the physically gruelling and mentally exhausting training regimen of several young wannabe Gaea Girls, a group of Japanese women wrestlers. The idea of them may seem like a total oxymoron in a country where women are usually regarded as docile and subservient. In training and the arena however, the female wrestlers wear glittering tight-fitting suits, hurling their opponents above their heads and onto the floor as if they are handling a bag of potatoes. Largely set in the training camp of the eponymous Gaea club, where aspiring wrestlers are supervised by the coolly sophisticated club president Yuka Sugiyama and whipped into shape by the pro wrestler Chigusa Nagayo, the film focuses much of its attention on Saika Takeuchi, a whiny trainee who struggles to pass her final tests. Longinotto keeps a respectful distance from her subject and observes the daily goings-on in the training camp without any comments. Nevertheless, her sober portrait of this almost fascist milieu, where every moment of weakness leads to degradation, is shocking to watch. To reach their moments of glory, the wrestlers first have to go through hell and back.