Ella Taylor

24 May 2012

Salita is such a careful, reined-in fellow that one comes away wanting to have seen much more of the men around him.

Eric Monder

22 May 2012

The film misses several opportunities to be more than a fawning portrait.

Gabe Leibowitz

22 May 2012

Hutt's shoddy editing and listless pacing keep the audience regrettably detached from the proceedings.

Phil Hall

19 May 2012

Too many sequences are so poorly recorded that subtitling is required to decipher what is being said.

Ron Wilkinson

16 May 2012

The fastest and best boxing action around plus a candid look inside the fight business make this a great film for aficionados of the sport. But there is not a lot there for most others.

Jordan Hiller

11 May 2012

Salita needs to train and prepare like any other fighter looking to break an opponent's nose in the first round, but all the while he spars with an adversary familiar to us all.

Nora Lee Mandel

10 May 2012

Personable, singular young welterweight makes the audience, and a colorful array of mentors and supporters, believe boxing is the sweet science %u2013 you just gotta have faith.

Joshua Rothkopf

09 May 2012

Jason Hutt's endearing profile finds the Ukrainian-born Brooklyn émigré in a thoughtful, expressive mood (outside the ring).

SONNYK_USA

06 May 2012

Not since the first Rocky movie has the rise of a boxer been so winningly

When the documentary of "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" wasreleased almost a decade ago, it was the first time that I heard of aperson of the Jewish faith being in professional sports. However, untilnow I never would have believed that an orthodox member of Judaismcould not only succeed as a boxer, but also get the mainly non-Jewishled ruling bodies of the boxing world to agree to modifications to fittheir sport to his religion.Very early on in the film the 'kosher' boxer Dmitriy Salita cancels about in Turkey because the promoters need him to fight on the Sabbath.From that point on, Dmitriy realizes that TV's "Friday Night Fights"will not be part of his boxing calendar, but he does successfully arguefor fighting on Saturday nights after sundown (the end of the Sabbathperiod). Not to mention all the holy days in between, some 70 days ofthe year that his religious preference interferes with his profession.Luckily Dmitiy finds some sympathetic promoters and winds up boxing inLas Vegas. With each successive fight Dmitriy soon proves he's not onlya contender but a big draw in his new hometown - Brooklyn. As a Russianémigré (from Odessa, Ukraine) and devout member of the Flatbushsynogogue, the opportunity to fight in front of his Georgian religiousbrethren proves to be just the approval and recognition he needs tocontinue the grueling training schedule.In between fights Dmitriy works as a cab driver, but always remembersto stay Kosher and observe the Orthodox rules at all times. The storyhinges on Dmitriy's determination which never wavers and his ability tooutperform his opponents in the ring. He's a real talent worth watchingin future.I won't spoil the ending but even the scriptwriters in Hollywoodcouldn't have come up with a better way to end this merging of sportand religious faith. If you're going to the festival, put this one atthe top of your list! Courtesy of ReelReviewer.com

Jeannette Catsoulis

04 May 2012

In the intriguingly layered documentary Orthodox Stance, a determined young boxer strives to prove that the laws of God and the laws of the ring need not be at odds.

Michelle Orange

03 May 2012

Hutt's instincts are solid, if occasionally unfocused; he'll be ready to turn pro any day now.

Jules Brenner

03 May 2012

You couldn't be faulted if you thought "Jewish Boxer" might be an oxymoron, but Hutt's devoted documentary introduces us to one powerhouse of an example.

Elizabeth Weitzman

01 May 2012

Salita doesn't see many other conflicts in his twin passions -- which, ultimately, makes for a less-than-gripping story. He's a likable guy and we're happy to watch his successes, but the movie lacks the emotional punch needed to knock us out.

Nathan Rabin

30 April 2012

Well-meaning but fairly dull.

diamondmedia2

28 April 2012

An inspirational boxing film about one young man against the odds

This film follows the career of Dimitri Salita, an immigrant fromRussia who dreams of a career in the fight game. He began training as aboxer at the age of 13. The film is a genuine look at a very specialyoung man who is sensitive and thoughtful when not in the ring. He madea decision to become an Orthodox Jew. This decision could have impededhis progress in the ring. Religious Jews have dietary laws, speciallaws forbidding work on the Sabbath....and many other requirementswhich can make competition in a sport very difficult. As an immigrantwho believes that America stands for freedom of religion, he refused togive up his religious ideals in order to succeed. In some ways, it ishis commitment to his faith which made people respect him even more.His boxing talents however were the ultimate test. He won bout afterbout....on to a title. This young man is gentle and sincere out of thering. In the ring a totally different individual is unleashed. In mymind, Dimitri Salita is far more inspirational than RockBalboa....although in some ways they were spurred on by the samerealities. Poverty is an enormous incentive...rather the desire to liftone's self from poverty has provided the impetus for the world'sgreatest fighters.

Bill Weber

25 April 2012

Crediting his passion for boxing with helping him find God, babyfaced welterweight fighter Dmitriy Salita seriously knits his brow in devotion to the rituals of Orthodox Judaism and professional pugilism in Orthodox Stance.

Louis Proyect

24 April 2012

Magnificent documentary on Orthodox Jewish fighter who balances his faith with a brutal profession and maintains his humanity in the process.

Phil Villarreal

21 April 2012

You get the feeling that the real meat of Salita's story will emerge in the next decade. Orthodox Stance is only Chapter One.

Frank Scheck

15 April 2012

While it might have made for an intriguing segment on a television newsmagazine show, doesn't sustain itself over the course of a feature-length film.

Maitland McDonagh

11 April 2012

While Salita is a charismatic subject, Jason Hutt's documentary feels unfinished; still in his early 20s, Salita's life and career are works in progress.