The thing about the biopic genre is that people already know the story. Even if it’s about someone relatively lesser well-known (who has a fascinating story), in this day and age you can always find out about everything on the internet. We’re talking about Andrea Absolonova here, the promising Czech athlete whose career was cut short due to an injury, but then she shifted to the adult film industry and became a sensation. That in itself is quite a story, but what makes it rather heartbreaking is Andrea dying at the age of twenty-seven of a brain tumor. Her Body, a new film by documentary filmmaker Natalie Cisarovska (her first foray into feature film), covers Andrea’s life from the time of her training days before the fateful accident till the end. It’s made with utmost care and looks very sincere in terms of storytelling. A lot of research has been done by the director, I’m sure of it. This is not your usual sports drama film, by any means, but the approach taken is rather safe, and I dare say – uninspiring. The only way you can make biopics exciting is by bringing a flair to the storytelling. Her Body doesn’t do that, and follows the basic route, which ultimately makes it a mediocre film. However, the ending of it is praiseworthy. Another thing that I really liked was the director’s choice of avoiding any of the melodrama, which usually comes with films like this.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens in the Movie?
It begins in the year 1996, with diver Andrea Absolonova winning the Czech championship. She’s already a star athlete, a valued member of the Czech high-diving team, who’s expected to bring a medal from the upcoming Atlanta Olympics in the USA. Andrea is focused and hard-working and a bit obsessed with her career, so much that she wouldn’t eat properly in order to keep her weight in check. Her sister Lucie, also a swimmer but not as talented as her, is sort of jealous of her, even though they share a great bond. Andrea’s mother is quite a handful, and has pinned her dreams on her, while the father appears to be a pretty chill guy initially. At a party, Andrea comes across Lucie’s photographer friend (or maybe acquaintance) Adam, who’s instantly smitten by her. The two of them have a moment, but it doesn’t go any further than them making out on the diving board. From the conversations she has with her sister, we realize how nervous she is, given how much is riding on her. Andrea’s (and her family’s) world turns upside down when she suffers a disastrous injury while diving in Madrid and breaks her spinal cord.
Does Andrea Get Back To Diving?
Well, she tries her best. But it’s literally impossible to get back into a sport that requires you to be at peak fitness after such an accident. There’s a scene in Her Body where the doctor lets her know that she’s lucky to be able to stand on her own two feet and live a normal life, as people often end up being paralyzed after suffering such an injury. Andrea still returns to the gym where she used to practice, but her trainer refuses to work with her, understandably. Realizing she’s not going to be able to compete anymore, Andrea finds a job as a cashier at a local supermarket. She continues to live with her sister at the gym though, as she finds out living with her parents is, in fact, intolerable thanks to their constant bickering about her life.Â
How Does Andrea Get Into Adult Films?
Some people are always meant for big things. For someone like Andrea Absolonova, a cashier at a supermarket could never be enough. Had she not met Adam again (at the supermarket), she probably wouldn’t have ended up in the Czech adult film industry. It was her choice, though, and Adam was against the idea. The relationship of Andrea and Adam is never vocally confirmed in Her Body, but it’s quite visible.Â
Getting into the adult film industry changes Andrea’s life, but Lucie doesn’t take it too well. She moves into her own flat, leaving the old gym, and starts making decent money. It doesn’t take long for her to become the superstar Lea Mae (the stage name she chose for herself). Her relationship with Adam grows sour though, although we never see them actually fighting. Andrea does find a great friend in Elena, a co-actor and crew member who sticks with her till the end. Her mother also starts showing support for her profession, while the formerly cool father doesn’t approve of it. In what I consider to be the best scene of Her Body, the broken family dynamics become clear through a scene where all four of them are eating at Andrea’s flat with Lucie, and her father barely talking to her. Later, Andrea is confronted by her father, who’s so ashamed of his daughter that he keeps renting her films so that people in the locality don’t see them. It’s riveting how Andrea stands up to this and makes it pretty clear that she’s proud of what she’s doing, as she should be. Without saying much, the film sheds light on society’s narrow mentality about people who work in adult films. It also shows how the industry works in a very routine, professional manner, and you don’t feel anything while watching the adult scenes being filmed. The director has done a great job here.
Does Andrea Die In The End?
There’s a point in Her Body when Andrea’s mother talks about her future, where she might consider a life of normalcy with a husband and a kid. Andrea doesn’t seem to disapprove of the idea either. Sadly, destiny had decided to make her life a tragedy. Why else would she be diagnosed with a brain tumor?Â
 In Her Body’s ending, Andrea faints while shooting for a big film. She was already tired beforehand and was getting mysteriously sick for quite a while, so this was inevitable. After she’s diagnosed, her father and Lucie come around. One of the high points of Her Body has to be the relationship between Andrea and Lucie, which mends itself by the end of the movie. I guess that’s the only positive thing about the whole story, other than the fact that Andrea Absolonova did manage to have a successful career, even though it was not how it was supposed to be. The final scene of the movie has Lucie putting a pink wig on Andrea’s shaved head; the two sisters are smiling, and Andrea’s eyes are glowing. She seems happy and content. That’s where the movie leaves us, which proves that it was always about Andrea’s indomitable spirit. She may have died (the end credits let us know that), but her spirit lives on forever.
