Joika (James Napier Robertson, 2023): New Zealand, Poland, United States

Reviewed by Mia Velazquez. Viewed at Santa Barbara Film Festival 2024.

On the 9th day of the Santa Barbara Film Festival, I attended “Joika” at the Fiesta 5 Theatre. It was an inspirational film about Joy Wamock, following her dream of becoming a part of the Bolshoi Ballet Company in Russia. We experience her journey through her training at the Bolshoi Academy to when she finally gets her dream of becoming a dancer in the Bolshoi Company! However, we see her many struggles along the way as the film progresses, as this is based on a true story of Joy’s experiences. Also, before “Joika” came to the SBIFF, it was shown at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January where it won “Best of Fest!”

The film begins with a flashback to when Joy was young, with scenes of her childhood.  Next, we hear the phone call from the director of the Bolshoi Academy, showing that Bolshoi recognized her talent and is giving her a chance! The film then moves to Moscow, Russia where we see 15 year old Joy Wamock heading to her ballet class. She gets there early, as does another dancer (Natasha), and then the rest of the class files in. They continue by preparing their shoes and the director Tatiyana Volkova (Diane Kruger) enters the scene and begins class. As this class progresses, we see the director praising specific students, and then Joy. This continues on for a good section of the film, with Joy continuously icing her toes that are bleeding from the intense dancing exercises. Soon she meets a male dancer who is also in the Bolshoi Academy, Nikolay Lebedev (Oleg Ivenko). He invites her out one night, telling her a recurring message in the film, “This world of the Bolshoi, it’s all politics.”

Later, we see Joy’s advanced class, as the director announces that the Bolshoi Academy has an opportunity to audition to become apart of the Company!  Joy is not selected at first, since she does not have the Russian ballerina finesse that her fellow ballerinas have. She then practices multiple times to win over the director and finally gets her audition for the company, which ends with her acceptance! The film progresses to show the five girls selected for a chance in the role of “Paquita,” which will determine their chance in the Bolshoi Ballet Company.  There is conflict and sabotaging between these five, until is gets to the final two being Joy and Natasha.  Joy continues to practice on her own time to get the role of “Paquita,” perfecting her ballet to become a Prima Ballerina.  This represents a main theme of “Joika,” which is the hard work, courage, and determination it takes to reach your dreams.  This determination and “never give up” attitude  are what help Joy survive the struggles she experiences in the Bolshoi. Joy gets married to Nikolay before her audition, partially so she would be accepted as an American in the Russian Ballet.  After this, things continuously go downhill for Joy, until the end of the film when we see her in her final performance, winning second place and finding peace in her life now.

“Joika” is an inspirational film and is very well made!  The cinematography was used perfectly, with camera angles showing Joy peeking into the boy’s ballet class, as well as the close up shots where we can see her facial expressions.  In these scenes, we experience her emotions and feel her stress, pain, and her “joy.” I was a flamenco dancer for many years, so I can relate to the commitment and hard work it takes to become a dancer.  I also appreciate Joy’s dedication and courage to achieve her dream against all odds. Overall, I enjoyed this film very much and give it a 10/10 rating! When “Joika” is available to view on video or streaming sites, I will definitely watch it again and recommend it to others.