INDEX
A Cinematic Exploration of Rhythm and Passion
Although ‘Challengers’ has the appearance of a “sports film” about tennis, it is in fact only one motif. This is a film of rhythm and passion. A woman who devotes herself to tennis, and two men who have an extraordinary passion for her, stimulate, seduce, inspire and defeat each other with their bodies and minds, and this is expressed in the most rhythmic way possible. The intense exchange of passions, like a tennis rally, and the anxiety and stagnation that sometimes come with it, are all woven into the rhythm that they form. The interweaving of these rhythms expands, distorts, and sharpens the triangle they form.
The main factors that create this rhythm are, first and foremost, the skillful shots, aggressive camera work, and meticulous montage. The way in which each player’s subjective shots are lightly layered, and the powerful smashes are shot toward the camera, one feels, to put it simply, as if the viewer himself were standing on the tennis court and trying to rally (in fact, I found myself dodging the tennis balls coming at the camera at such high speed that I was almost dodging), (In fact, I found myself ducking and dodging as the tennis ball came at the camera at high speed.) This seesaw-game rhythm is extended to the off-court exchanges as well, and a peculiar tension persists throughout almost the entire film.
