MIFF NOTES: Destination Arnold (2016, Dir. Sascha Ettinger Epstein)

Tasha and Kylene, two indigenous women in Sydney, have one thing in their sights: the 113kg of man-muscle that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. The only things in their way are their kids, deadbeat exes, family illnesses, oppressive diets, daily runs, physical walls, mental walls, impossibly-tiny bikinis and crippling self-image. But neither of them are going to let any of that stop them.

Destination Arnold, Sascha Ettinger Epstein's double portrait of these two aspiring body builders is exceptionally frank and layered with interest. Sitting atop that pile is Tasha and Kylene's humorous against-the-odds outlook on the world. Amateur body building is no easy feat and though both women at times lose sight of the prize (quite dramatically in some cases) their fiercely funny asides on the world never fail to show they have the mindset to turn it all back around.

Ettinger Epstein's access to Tasha and Kylene's lives may not be as blanket as many documentaries but the regular absences make for startling progressions in the women's body building journeys. It is amazing to see what they put themselves through and the changes this can effect physically and mentally.

Intimate and emotionally engrossing, Destination Arnold is a celebration of two women triumphing in their own corner of the world. Triumphing against everything life has thrown at them and most of what they've throw against themselves. Great stuff. Great women.

★★★☆

Destination Arnold screened as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival 2016.

You can check out other films from the festival here.