Ringside (1992)★ 7.5/10

FI · 55 min · September 25, 1992

• Documentary
• Biography
• Sport

Directed by: Arto Halonen

Written by: Arto Halonen

Ringside is a dramatized documentary about a boxer preparing for the last fight of his life which turns out to be a fight with himself, too. It is about the life of a boxer, the fierce ambition and the madness of it all, and the strange beauty that is also a part of it. After drifting to a verge of suicide in his private life, the hero has found new happiness, and this determines the way of this last fight. At he most crucial moment of his career he decides that life is more important, after all. Visually, this is not ordinary sports documentary but a skillful compilation of flashbacks of the ring and the boxer's dreams and visions. In a frank look at his life, the man talks to the camera in a way that helps the viewer understand the mystery behind sport. The story turns around the 1991 European Championships in London , where the boxer decides to throw the towels in.