Gaea Girls

Gaea Girls

104 mins | Documentary | Aug. 16, 2000

This fascinating documentary is based around the Japanese wrestling organisation Gaea's rural training camp, and traces, in the main, the careers of four hopefuls. In charge are two magnificent specimens, the butch champion Chigusa Nagaya, still venting her hurt at the hands of her army father as she tries to whip her surrogate daughters through the pain and commitment barriers; and her sophisticated and slightly menacing Chairman. It's a gruelling, physical film, as you would expect, but the makers don't make heavy weather of it. And it certainly disposes of any idea that the game is faked.

Gaea Girls

104 mins | Documentary | Aug. 16, 2000

Gaea Girls
This fascinating documentary is based around the Japanese wrestling organisation Gaea's rural training camp, and traces, in the main, the careers of four hopefuls. In charge are two magnificent specimens, the butch champion Chigusa Nagaya, still venting her hurt at the hands of her army father as she tries to whip her surrogate daughters through the pain and commitment barriers; and her sophisticated and slightly menacing Chairman. It's a gruelling, physical film, as you would expect, but the makers don't make heavy weather of it. And it certainly disposes of any idea that the game is faked.
IMDb rating 7.4
Producers BBC
Original title Gaea Girls
Directors Jano Williams, Kim Longinotto
Writers Kim Longinotto

Cast

Chigusa Nagayo

as Herself

Meiko Satomura

as Herself

Yuka Sugiyama

as Herself

Saika Takeuchi

as Herself