Jules and Jim with tennis rackets. Zendaya in the center of the triangle, the best of the three. A promising player in world tennis, he could immediately become a professional but he enrolled at university “to learn more about the world than just the noise the ball makes on the strings of the racket” (for the acoustics of tennis, and much more on the subject, read “Short lives of eminent tennis players” by Matteo Codignola). He plays against opponents who aren’t up to par and in the match he hurts his knee. Her competitive career is over, she will become a coach.
In “Challengers” – the strike-causing Luca Guadagnino film we didn’t see last September at the Venice Film Festival – Zendaya is in the stands, elegant and very attentive. On the pitch, both of his loves: the one he married and trained (the match should help him regain confidence in himself) and the one who at the moment doesn’t even have the money to pay for the hotel, the card credit was rejected, ends up sleeping in the carto. They met as students, she, already famous, visits them in their room, kisses them, says “I don’t want to break up a family” (wickedly alluding to the friendship between the two). Leaving the room, she puts herself up for grabs as a trophy for the next day’s game.
A triangle, dramatic but not too much. But around there is a film by Luca Guadagnino. Colorful, with the soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, the extreme close-ups of rackets, ankles, socks, hairy calves, varied muscles always in attacking positions, drops of sweat, looks of hatred between rivals who were friends off the court. One of the tennis players is Josh O’Connor (the sexiest protruding ears around, don’t mind when he was the young Prince Charles in “The Crown”, and unfortunately he had a part in “The Chimera”, let’s hope that being English he hasn’t understood what the grave robbers around him were saying). The other is Mike Faist, an American from Ohio who made his film debut with “West Side Story” by Steven Spielberg (and on TV in the “Panic” series).
A perfect trio, which handles the temporal comings and goings very well without the unpleasant tricks. Like: now let’s put glasses on this one, so we understand that years have passed. Here at most there is a different haircut, and the acting does the rest. They lose sight of each other and find each other again, again on the blue tennis court. With the current passion for Pel di Carota Jannik Sinner, it shouldn’t be difficult to get a few people to the cinema.
In addition to the loyal fans, of course. Which pass without batting an eyelid from the remake of “Suspiria” by Dario Argento (not very successful, but they are two sacred monsters that cannot be criticized), to the tenderness of “Call Me by Your Name” (with Timothée Chalamet signing autographs on the peaches extended by admirers) to “Bones and All”, the amazing film about teenage cannibals (and not just them, there was also Mark Rylance with the braid). It must be said that it has no strong competitors in the cinemas.
The curiosity lies in the screenwriter of “Challengers”. His name is Justin Kuritzkes, he is the husband of the Canadian director of Korean origin, Celine Song. Just her, who was nominated for an Oscar for “Past Lives”. The story of the little girl – who emigrated from Korea to the USA with her parents – who marries an American she met at a writers’ gathering. Until her old friend shows up, via social media, and goes to visit her in New York. Tennis makes everything more violent, you win or you lose. The American husband is kind and thoughtful, he goes out to dinner with the three of them even if the two former lovebirds only speak fluently in Korean. And they laugh, while he is patient.
