From the World of John Wick: Ballerina entertains while projecting subtle messages with a big punch

When my kids took Tae Kwon Do, I remember their teacher constantly harping on the fact that body size doesn’t matter. That even if the kids were small in stature or girth, they could take down someone tall and big because they were quicker, more agile, and perhaps even stronger than the larger person. Being a fan of movies, I’ve heard this a lot since then in films like the original Karate Kid and Enemy of the State, although I have to say I’ve never seen it done in real life. (Then again, I don’t watch fights in real life!) I can now add From the World of John Wick: Ballerina to that list of movies making this claim. The latest installment in the John Wick series does not disappoint in its action nor story, but I think its much more subtle message packs the biggest punch.

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (Ballerina) opens with a mildly bruised and brooding young girl sitting alone in a police station holding a snow globe of a ballerina. The inciting incident is the invasion of the young girl’s home by well-armed fighters. They arrive at the water isolated Czech Republic compound like Navy Seals, slowly and stealthily lifting their heads out of the water under the cover of night, quietly killing armed guards, and engaging in hand-to-hand combat. They encounter quite the challenge, however, with Eve’s father, Javier (David Castañeda), who is not only determined to protect his 8-ish-year-old daughter Eve, but who is also quite skilled himself. Ultimately, Eve ends up alone and is taken in by The Director (Anjelica Huston), who heads the Ruska Roma crime organization where they not only teach ballet but train the students to become lethal weapons themselves.

Ana de Armas plays the adult Eve in Ballerina. With the  bitter pill of her father’s loss on her tongue and a promise to avenge his death, she is further toughened by The Director who insists she repetitively practices dance movements even while blood soaks through her pointe shoes. “Again!” asserts The Director. “Again!” Nogi (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) is equally tough as the fighting teacher. When Eve continues to get beat by a male opponent in class, she becomes upset and claims she  “can’t” beat him. With intensity, Nogi exclaims that she is allowing him to dictate the terms of the fight and adds that she must “fight like a girl.”

I love this unpretentious movie. Not only do The Director’s and Nogi’s teachings emphasize winning, but they project the reality that female fighters are more often than not disadvantaged in physical battles. Traditional methods are male-developed and male-centered and thus do not work effectively for females. This means that the latter must play their own game, use whatever is at their disposal, and occasionally break rules if they must.

We see Eve put the school’s lessons into practice when she gets her first assignment. More so than traditional weapons, she uses dishes, groin kicks, and eye gouges to get the advantage on her male opponents. We continue to see this creativity (and frankly, entertainment) throughout the film. What it demonstrates is that women have, indeed must have, a more strategic approach to fighting, not just physical battles but dealing with other challenges as well.

What we learn also from this film is that maturity enhances the ability to set aside emotions. When Eve and John Wick (Keanu Reeves) battle, for instance, she seems unable to compete. It is as if she is back in school unsuccessfully fighting against her male competitor on the mat. Like then, her objectivity is lost and she is fighting with emotion, proving Nogi’s point that when emotion takes over, she is unable to reason, see things clearly, and play to her strengths.

While I love the powerful themes underlying Ballerina, I would argue that they do not just apply to women but also to people of color and other disadvantaged social groups. To be fair, the film hints at a bit of this with its portrayals of Eve and Nogi, both actresses of color. With the deck stacked against these groups, all must prepare their mindset and develop strategies to deal with the big and tall obstacles they regularly (and will inevitably) face.

I like the structure of this film because it presents like a game. It requires toughness, creativity, and wit – all while also requiring that you abide by a set of rules. This is the function of The Continental, a hotel that serves as a safe haven for assassins in the John Wick series. While being a guest at The Continental, certain rules cannot be broken. In this sense, Ballerina reminds me of movies like The Hunger Games series and Escape Room, all of which require protagonists to use their wits to survive either physical battles or other constraints imposed upon them over the course of the films.