Synopsis

In Boxing Gym, we don’t hear narration. Nor are we given chronological explanations. The film only shows people training in a boxing gym, run by Richard Lord, a retired professional boxer. The closest thing this film has to a main character is Lord himself, but even he does not reveal much about his life, except to allow us a glimpse into his expertise as he trains his fighters. In Boxing Gym, the space inside and outside the gym, and the people in it, are all main characters. Their lives repeat themselves day by day, leaving their traces behind, but each person shows a different attitude towards what they do. Some aspire to be professional boxers, others are overweight middle-aged men. Some amateurs approach boxing with the seriousness of an ascetic monk. Frederick Wiseman only skims the surface of the people who come to the gym from different backgrounds and for different reasons. Although we hear some talk between Lord and his students or between the trainees, they are not weaved into a coherent story line. One theme that permeates this story-wise minimalism is a sort of professionalism. In every scene Wiseman chose to include in the film, we see people training with great zeal. There is no distinction between enjoying the exercise and losing oneself in it. In these scenes, they are all trained as professional boxers. That sort of immersion and dedication to the sport of boxing is what Boxing Gym leave us with. I don’t want to give this film a clichéd critique, such as ‘it reveals various aspects of the American dream’. By focusing on the dedication of the people who stand as living proof of the oneness of training and enjoyment, this film presents the boxing gym as a secular monastery. (KIM Young-jin)

Director

• 

  Frederick WISEMAN
  

  Frederick Wiseman is a film and stage director. He has made 36 documentaries and two fiction films. His documentaries are about the human experience within institutions (schools, prisons, the military, hospitals, courts, the arts, and communities) that are common in all societies. His stage productions include Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days and The Last Letter, which is based on the Vasily Grossman novel Life and Fate, both staged at the Comédie Française. He is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
  
  La Danse-Le Ballet de L’opéra de Paris (2009)
  Near Death (1989)
  Primate (1974)
  High School (1968)
  Titicut Follies (1967)

Credits

• Director, Producer, Editor, Sound  Frederick WISEMAN
• Cinematographer  John DAVEY

Production Company

• Production Company  Zipporah Films

Distributor/World Sales

• Distributor/World Sales  Doc & Film International
• Address  13 rue Portefoin 75003 Paris, France
• Tel  33 1 42 77 56 87
• E-mail  international@docandfilm.com