Vera 68

Year: 2012
Country: CZECH REPUBLICA
Run Time: 90 minutes

Věra Čáslavská is a Czech Olympic champion who, in 1968, was voted the world's second most popular woman after Jackie Kennedy. A cheerful blonde who excelled in every area of gymnastics, Věra shot to fame in 1964 after winning three gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics. Four years later, in Mexico City, she won four more. But Věra's life has not been all sunshine and adulation, and VERA 68 tells her story. One courageous act of silent protest changed her life forever. In 1968 the Soviets invaded Czechoslovakia, and at that year's Olympics all eyes were on Věra. As the Soviet anthem played, she simply turned her head aside. An outcast in her newly Socialist country, she was reduced to cleaning houses in disguise. But as the Cold War ended, President Vaclav Havel hired her as an advisor. Věra remains an ebullient woman who notes that life -- like gymnastics -- has some ups and downs. May Věra Čáslavská continue to celebrate her ups. (In Czech, Spanish, and Japanese with subtitles) – B.B.

• Tweet