Volte: Coming of Age on Horseback | Op-Docs

This week we take you to Poland for Monika Kotecka and Karolina Poryzala’s new Op-Doc, “Volte.” The film goes inside the rarified sport of equestrian vaulting, following a team of young women and girls through their grueling training process. It’s a beautifully made meditation on hierarchy, sports and belonging.

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[sixrats]

From a long-time fan of artistic documentaries, ballet, and rhythmic gymnastics -- bravo!

[vegbeth]

Wow, I want to know more. What are they training for? Where do they live? How did they get into the sport - are their families involved? Where do they perform? So many unanswered questions! Also, the main girl looks like she could grow up to be a supermodel!

[Tourian]

That was so good! It says so much while leaving so much unsaid.

[subversivelysurreal]

I feel that the tightness of the framing is a device used to create discomfiture in the mind
of the viewer.
It definitely achieved it!
I am thinking of the grueling, terrible slenderness of the gymnastics balance beam.
This is well worth watching, particularly for everyone who has enjoyed watching gymnastics.

[mhere]

Wow this gave me flashbacks of bad days at gymnastics practice.

[nikkiktamu]

I get it. It's the tragedy of growing up bigger when you've spent years perfecting your skills for a sport that requires you to be small.

A lot of competitive cheerleaders will know this pain. We had a flyer in my student group for 4 years that was with us through 8 national individual championships. Unfortunately, by the fifth year she had just gotten too big to lift without causing a large amount of wear and tear to her bases. It was such a tragedy because she was better than ever by that point.

These girls practice for years and years to master that skill, and by the time they do, they are already fighting time and age. I hope the main character here sticks with it and learns to become a base.

[SimonWackerle]

Very good Video! Good camera, editing and sounddesign!

[subversivelysurreal]

I remember riding. First I had Tuppence, a kicker, so I never got into trouble for that.
Then I had a twenty-one year old poor white mare, whom I had to mercilessly drive...
Then I was put on a freshly broken arrival called Copper, and I was able to advance
with ease, I felt the strength of my ballet was beneficial, and the experience was glorious!
~Later, I inquired about Copper, and my friend (now a Veterinarian) responded, “He’s ruined.”
I haven’t been on a Horse ever since.🤦🏻‍♀️That animal...I loved that beautiful, marvelous horse.

[sallieskakel]

Poor Bill. He is in fact unhappy. I can't bear to watch his suffering. Before the work begins, , he protests, he tries to defend himself, but to no avail. Cantering in the circle, with the side reins MUCH too tight, he has his mouth open, revealing his pain, his attempt to avoid the cruel pressure of the bit. Look at the tension in his face. And his labored breathing shows that he is not fit enough to endure this work. He hates his job. Poor Bill.

[AB-gnoh]

Unfortunately the filmmaker chose style over substance; the tightness of the framing prevents us from seeing a fuller story. Further, this documentary gave no info on who this group are, or for what they’re training. And those girls - I only saw one smile. Even Bill the horse seems unhappy.

[koibutsu]

Music at end was awesome lol love how they included horse into it.

[RoryLaycock]

Outstanding! Well done everyone involved. I know it's different subject matter but it reminds me of the Film Zidane a 21st century by Douglas Gordon & Phillippe Parreno. Hats off :)

[maryellenw]

#Drama #Film #Equestrian subject hashtags, to hopefully help the YouTube algorithim direct website traffic to this video, or at least see the brief promotional video thumbnail/YouTube video and YouTube channel name that appear on-screen in the list of similar and/or recommended videos that the platform generates for display on the right hand side of the screen! Good promotion is key in marketing these types of 'quality', top shelf, artistic filmmaking.

[orjihvy]

How did they even get into such a profession?

[maryellenw]

Beautiful, lush, rich, image-detailed visuals and filmmaking/cinematography considerations, but I was expecting that an Op-Doc produced by a media giant with a near-sterling reputation for providing quality, informative content (including perspectives and commentary) would contain more information and/or hard facts and statistics. This video was kind of creepy and vague. Not very helpful content, in my opinion.

[elmoblatch]

In the world of equestrian pursuits, this has always seemed the most pointless, but hey, just Elmo's opinion. Andy DuFresne would never do vaulting, unless it was vaulting over the wall at the Shank.

[ivanogre]

No child should ever be put in this much danger of being hurt, for any reason.

[ivanogre]

What an inherently unsafe sport. There are so many moments in this video where these girls could have gotten seriously hurt. If I had a child I'd keep him or her as far away from this as possible. No child should ever be put in this much danger of being hurt, for any reason. It's not worth the terrible risk.

[keelahrose]

Terrible camera choice not to let us see the horse running while the girls are on it with their instructor!

[rogerkomula]

Trump wants to know how much to make one wife #4, although they're probably too old already.