{"id":7483,"date":"2023-01-19T07:44:18","date_gmt":"2023-01-19T13:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/?p=7483"},"modified":"2023-01-19T07:44:18","modified_gmt":"2023-01-19T13:44:18","slug":"thug-rose-lithuanian-americas-ultimate-fighter-a-film-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/thug-rose-lithuanian-americas-ultimate-fighter-a-film-review\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThug Rose\u201d: Lithuanian America\u2019s Ultimate Fighter. A Film Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sandy Baksys.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Just as we might expect of a biopic about a female champion in the sport of \u201cultimate\u201d fighting, the new documentary, \u201cThug Rose: Mixed Martial Artist,\u201d by veteran Lithuanian-American filmmaker Marius Markevi\u010dius, can be described as the ultimate sports psychology film. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Film poster \u2013 Thug Rose: Mixed Martial Artist (2022).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whereas Markevi\u010dius\u2019 Lithuanian basketball documentary, \u201cThe Other Dream Team\u201d (2012), hinged on the nexus between sports, nationality, and geopolitics, there\u2019s a whole other level of psychology to a film about a 115-pound woman who excels at choking, punching, or kicking her opponent to submission before they can do the same to her.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rose Namajunas (Nah-mah-YOO-nahs) is the American-born daughter of third-wave Lithuanian immigrants. In her Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) strawweight bouts, there are no padded boxing gloves or taking-a-break clinches. Though her matches run a maximum of five, high-intensity rounds, they are often decided in their initial minutes by a \u201csudden death\u201d strike that penetrates an opponent\u2019s defenses like a bolt of lightning. <\/span><\/p>\n

Streaming on UFC\u2019s \u2018Fight Pass\u2019 Channel<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

But not to worry \u2013 Markevi\u010dius\u2019 film, which was funded by the UFC and is exclusively streaming on its Fight Pass channel, is mercifully unbloody. And you don\u2019t have to be a UFC fan or mixed martial arts (MMA) disciple to appreciate either Rose\u2019s psychological or sports dramas. <\/span><\/p>\n

Markevi\u010dius\u2019 brilliant \u201csurprise\u201d opening instantly sets the tone for the rest of the movie. When he gives us diminutive, crew-cut \u201cThug Rose\u201d stepping into the spotlight, not for brutal combat but to play Chopin\u2019s Fantasy Impromptu on a concert piano, the core contradiction between Rose\u2019s fragility and her ferocity is also spotlighted. <\/span><\/p>\n

Pianist \/ Pugilist<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Two-time strawweight champion Rose Namajunas.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The balance of the film consists of concise, impactful bits of Rose\u2019s backstory and clips from interviews with the fighter and her inner circle interwoven with thrilling footage from the five major bouts, 2017-2021, in which Rose became the first woman ever to win, lose, then reclaim a UFC title. <\/span><\/p>\n

Much of the dramatic tension in the film arises from our growing perception of Rose\u2019s vulnerability, both emotional (\u201cdemons in my past that I deal with every day\u201d) and physical (lingering dread from a head slam that cost her title). As we root for her to survive each new bout with minimum damage, it doesn\u2019t help our nerves that Rose never carries as much bulging musculature into the ring as her opponents. But what she lacks in hulk and bulk, she more than makes up for with her signature lithe and rhythmic footwork. <\/span><\/p>\n

Like Being in the Roman Colosseum<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Filmmaker Marius Markevi\u010dius: \u201cI have a passion for helping people learn about the country of my roots.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Making his film about Rose\u2019s hero\u2019s journey took Markevi\u010dius on a similar rollercoaster. In a recent telephone interview with Draugas News, he described the particular intensity of waiting with Rose in the tunnel before her 2021 Madison Square Garden rematch with the same Chinese fighter Rose had defeated earlier that year to reclaim her championship. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like waiting in the bowels of the Colosseum,\u201d Markevi\u010dius recalled. \u201cFighters were trudging back to the locker room after their matches, spent and bleeding \u2013 some were even put into waiting ambulances. For me, it was nerve-wracking, but Rose was just calmly taping her hands. Her ability to balance her emotions and past traumas in a moment like that was remarkable.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Rose, not \u2018Rocky\u2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Rose shares the classic \u201cRocky\u201d backstory. As a disadvantaged youth from a rough Milwaukee neighborhood, she grew up on the streets (and, paradoxically, studying piano with her mother and at the Milwaukee High School of the Arts) while she found self-worth and community in the local \u201cgym\u201d (technically, a series of martial arts studios).<\/span><\/p>\n

However, MMA ultimate fighting is a world away from that venerable Hollywood boxing genre (think \u201cCinderella Man\u201d and \u201cRocky\u201d I, II, III, and IV), in which the male heavyweight gets head-rocked by punch after punch in slow-mo while remaining improbably on his feet \u2013 then going on to win an hours-long match.<\/span><\/p>\n

Avatar of Lithuania\u2019s \u2018Fighting Spirit\u2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The violence in Markevi\u010dius\u2019 film is far more staccato and realistic, even as it benefits from discretion in editing and a non-voyeuristic eye. Instead, the director finds it more interesting to frame Rose\u2019s fights within the disciplined and self-affirming practice of the martial arts. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Rose Namajunas is exhilarated as UFC President Dana White places the championship belt on her after defeating Zhang Weili of China in their UFC women’s strawweight championship bout. VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida, April 24, 2021.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is also a very Lithuanian context to Rose\u2019s championship quest, just as in \u201cThe Other Dream Team\u201d \u2013 a film Rose admired\u2014thus creating an easy connection between the director and his subject from the start. <\/span><\/p>\n

At various times in the film, Rose holds the Lithuanian flag, wears the famous \u201cSkullman\u201d commemorative Lithuanian basketball jersey, alludes to Lithuania\u2019s devastating Soviet experience, and calls herself a \u201cproduct of Lithuania\u2019s fighting spirit.\u201d The never-give-up underdog nation incarnate in the never-give-up underdog fighter is an ever-present theme.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reenacting & Redeeming Past Traumas<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

However, the \u201cmain event\u201d in Rose\u2019s backstory pivots not on nationality but on the physical and sexual abuse in her childhood that has made her both physically fierce and emotionally vulnerable.<\/span><\/p>\n

And at one startling moment in the film, you realize that Rose\u2019s UFC bouts, as much as they are intense athletic competitions, are also revisionist reenactments of past traumas. Rose explains: \u201cIt\u2019s just something from my past that I really like to hurt somebody who hurt me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She goes on to recall the one-sided abuse she once suffered\u2014how a child victim who already can\u2019t fight back is rendered even more helpless by an abuser\u2019s lies, denial, and manipulations. At least Rose\u2019s MMA matches now are \u201ctwo-way\u201d and \u201chonest,\u201d she points out. Maybe that also makes them a form of reparative justice. <\/span><\/p>\n

A \u2018Fair Fight\u2019<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Posing with her championship belt and Lithuanian flag.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Rose, the child, only wanted a locked door, what adult Rose relishes is a fair fight with someone the same size, weight, and gender. There are no victims in this scenario. Just like her opponents, Rose can more than defend herself, unlike during childhood with a predatory stepfather. <\/span><\/p>\n

And the fact that in those special moments when Rose is her best self, she can actually be the best \u2013 champion of the world \u2013 makes every win even more redemptive. <\/span><\/p>\n

Even Rose\u2019s distinctive crew cut communicates her will to a modest and disciplined kind of power that is not given but earned. What use can there be in her world, anyway, for the empty blandishments of feminine beauty when these are less likely to project her ethos of discipline and strength than the weakness and exploitability she suffered as a child?<\/span><\/p>\n

A Special Inspiration to Women<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

For many women, I believe that Rose\u2019s trauma and indomitability will resonate long after the credits roll. Her recovery of self-worth and personal power through a type of physical aggression traditionally reserved for (and abused by) men will speak symbolically of turning the tables on every kind of gender exploitation and violence. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the end, what Markevi\u010dius hails as Rose\u2019s profound \u201cemotional intelligence\u201d \u2013 her conscious connection to her suffering (\u201cOne minute she\u2019s crying, the next minute she\u2019s killing the bag\u201d)\u2014makes her the rarest kind of champion. It seems unlikely that such emotional self-awareness and openness would even be possible in a male athlete. <\/span><\/p>\n

And on this basis, it\u2019s possible to argue that Rose isn\u2019t just the ultimate female sports hero, but the ultimate sports hero, period. <\/span><\/p>\n

Where\u2019s the Sequel?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

If any movie ever demanded a sequel, it\u2019s this one. After getting to know Rose\u2014even worrying about her as one would a friend or family member constantly exposed to injury \u2013 how can we not want to see the rest of her story?<\/span><\/p>\n

This level of engagement would not be possible without Rose\u2019s extraordinary honesty, her faith in Markevi\u010dius, and her courage in speaking openly about her life and mental health challenges. Our investment in Rose\u2019s story is also a testament to Markevi\u010dius\u2019 patience, skill, and sensitivity in bringing to life a sports hero whose strength is not just indistinguishable but derived from her vulnerability. <\/span><\/p>\n

As the director of \u201cAshes in the Snow\u201d (2018), based on Ruta Sepetys\u2019 best-selling young adult novel, \u201cBetween Shades of Gray,\u201d Markevi\u010dius was gratified to see that film become the biggest box-office draw of all time in Lithuania. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThug Rose\u201d will also have a theatrical release in Lithuania on Feb. 10\u2014and before that, a screening at the Scandinavian Film Festival L.A. in Beverly Hills at 3:30 p.m., Jan. 21. Lithuanian-American community screenings across the U.S. will follow.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The film premiered at the Austin (Texas) Film Festival on Oct. 30, 2022, and began streaming on the UFC Fight Pass channel on Nov. 9.<\/span><\/p>\n

New Lithuanian-Themed Projects?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Unique in the English-speaking world for his successful films touching on Lithuanian heroes and history, Markevi\u010dius is vetting several new scripted feature ideas. Meanwhile, he is co-producing a documentary about the courageous pro-democracy movement in Lithuania\u2019s long-time autocratic neighbor, Belarus. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs a fan of all Lithuanian sports figures and other successful Lithuanians around the world,\u201d he explained, \u201cI was naturally intrigued by Rose because she\u2019s such an accomplished and fascinating individual.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have a passion for helping people learn about the country of my roots that\u2019s so special to me, so, there\u2019s always that thread when I\u2019m looking for new projects. Or maybe you could say it\u2019s because of my interest that Lithuanian-themed projects always somehow find me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sandy Baksys. Just as we might expect of a biopic about a female champion in the sport of \u201cultimate\u201d fighting, the new documentary, \u201cThug Rose: Mixed Martial Artist,\u201d by veteran Lithuanian-American filmmaker Marius Markevi\u010dius, can be described as the ultimate sports psychology film. Whereas Markevi\u010dius\u2019 Lithuanian basketball documentary, \u201cThe Other Dream Team\u201d (2012), hinged on …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":7477,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,68,214,118],"tags":[111],"class_list":["post-7483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-diaspora","category-events","category-film","category-sports","tag-baksys-s"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7483"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7493,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7483\/revisions\/7493"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.draugas.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}