Rietuma: "Uļa"'s strength lies in emotion, but Oscar miracles are rare

Dita Rietuma, head of the National Film Centre and a film critic, shared her assessment of director Viesturs Kairišs's new film "Uļa" and its potential chances in the international Oscar competition, speaking to Delfi ahead of the film's Latvian premiere.

According to Rietuma, "Uļa" does not follow the conventions of a classic sports drama. Viewers expecting a traditionally structured story about sport may feel somewhat puzzled, but the critic suggests this could be exactly the effect the film is aiming for. She notes that the film's main strength lies not in the retelling of events but in the emotions it evokes, its nuanced visual language, and its ability to tell widely known facts from a subjective, emotional point of view.

A story about growing up and being different

Rietuma describes the film not so much as a story about sport, but about how difficult it is to feel out of place and different from others. In her view, "Uļa" conveys how much the process of growing up demands from a person as they learn to navigate a complicated and, at times, rather cynical world.

Cautious Oscar forecast

Asked to predict the film's chances in the Oscar race, Rietuma remains cautious. She points out that miracles in such competitions happen rarely, and cautions against expecting the kind of success Latvian cinema achieved with "Flow" to repeat every year. With this remark, the critic signals a realistic outlook on Latvian films' prospects on the international stage, without ruling out a surprise but without raising expectations too high either.