Director: Shin Yeon-shick
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Park Jeong-min, Jang Yoon-ju, Park Myung-hoon, Lee Min-ji
Country of Origin: South Korea
Running time: 1hr 47min
A solitary victory is the objective for a motley bunch of no-hopers in a women’s volleyball club on the brink of folding.
When oddball owner and conglomerate heir Kang Jeong-won (Park Jeong-min) takes control of the ailing Pink Storm he hires hapless coach Kim Woo-jin (Song Kang-ho) and immediately sells the team’s best players.
The outlandishly dressed Kang holds bizarre meetings in the bowels of a nightclub and outlines his vision for the club in a series of gimmicky experiments.
Everything is live streamed as the socially challenged owner – who publicly proclaims he wants to give away his fortune in the next decade – offers a share of $2 million to 100 people if the atrocious Storm manage to claim a single league triumph.
Season tickets sell out but it quickly becomes clear that Kang couldn’t care less about what actually happens on the volleyball court.
Kim’s coaching record is marked by abject failure. His elevation to the professional ranks comes completely out of blue just as his children’s volleyball school is about to shut down.
Divorced and estranged from his wife and daughter, it’s a shock appointment for a man with seemingly no future in the sport.
He inherits a shabby group woefully unprepared for the professional ranks.
Bang Soo-ji (Jang Yoon-ju) has to be hauled off a nightclub dance floor for training.
A 20 year reserve who prefers sewing to spiking, she is badly out of shape and looks more like a beginner than a veteran.Japanese libero Yuki (Lee Min-ji) is a last minute addition chosen by the crackpot owner because he thought she looked cute.
The imposing Oh Bo-ra (Jang Su-im) looks ready to literally fight the opposition with her braided hair and permanent snarl and is labelled a gangster by the rest of the team.
Six-year substitute Kang Ji-sook (Shin Yun-ju) was a star player in middle school but lacks confidence after becoming a benchwarmer.
The Storm have 30 games to meet the challenge of gaining a sole victory in the six team league. It doesn’t appear a monumental feat, yet the ill equipped coach Kim makes life difficult for himself as his new team stumble from one setback to another.
While One Win veers into familiar territory by regurgitating some worn out sports cliches, there’s enough experimentation to make it stand out from the competition.
As the first Korean volleyball film – the sport has a dedicated following in a nation where baseball and football enjoy great popularity – it delves into the mechanics of the game.
A highlight comes when Jo Jung-suk – who makes a cameo as the coach of the Super Girls – shows coach Kim the finer points of video analysis, including strategy, tactics and player positioning.
The pair of acting heavyweights – Jo and Song are two of the most famous faces in South Korea – complement each other perfectly.
An unexpected animated segment details the backstory of coach Kim and his Black Queens counterpart, while a fantastic slowed down sequence follows the ball around in the air at a slightly slowed down pace.
There’s an epic montage – every proper sports film needs a montage – set to The Who’s Baba O’Riley and the Rocky (1976) theme song accompanies a rousing finale. Director Shin Yeon-shick has good music taste if nothing else.
A number of professional players also have minor roles which adds credibility to the on-court action.
While a South Korean volleyball legend (who is an instantly recognizable celebrity in her own right) also makes a brief appearance, .Jang Yoon-ju provides both light relief and an hefty dose of emotion in a marvellous portrayal of old stager Bang Soo-ji who has almost forgotten how to play her chosen sport.
Perhaps it’s nitpicking to quibble about the amount of time dedicated to chronicling the action from the Storm games.
It’s the whole point of the film after all. Yet the coach’s strained relationship with his wife (who is also a sports reporter) and daughter could have been fleshed out.
Regardless, through his sheer force of personality Song is utterly compelling as a coach trying to prove he belongs in the tight-knit volleyball elite.
Whether confronting irate fans head on after another defeat – the same supporters furiously burn an effigy of him – or failing to conjure up any words of wisdom as a cameraman moves too close into a huddle during a time out in the Storm’s first game, Song shows off his unlimited range in a testing role.
From lowly laughing stock to inspirational motivator he is particularly effective in a memorable scene with reticent long term reserve Kang.
He gently but firmly states that anyone can point out weaknesses as he builds up her confidence to finally become a starter.
It’s an understated message in a film that deviates from the stereotypical underdog overcoming the odds story. You don’t have to win a championship to succeed, sometimes you don’t even have to claim consecutive victories. When you are stuck at the bottom of the ladder even moving up one rung is a noteworthy achievement.
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Stephen Kasiewicz 