The Speed Cubers Review (Short Film, 2020)
One of my earliest memories at school is solving a Rubik’s Cube in preschool. It was one of the privilege/responsibility activities that happens at that age. Some classes had a pet they got to take care of on the weekend. My teacher had a Rubik’s Cube that got passed throughout the class. I don’t even know if there was a reward for solving it. I just know that I had solved it before I left the classroom and that was somehow a big deal. This led to a lot of years of being gifted Rubik’s Cube of all shapes and sizes throughout the year, as well as other brain teasers and puzzles. I was a bigger fan of intricate word puzzles and matrices, though I could get into an unusual Rubik’s Cube shape every so often. I was not concerned with speed, but understanding the puzzle itself.
The Speed Cubers is a short documentary about the competitive Rubik’s Cube solving scene. The focus is on two world record holders: Feliks Zemdegs of Australia and Max Park of the United States of America. They are both heavily favored to win any tournament they enter, including the traditional 3x3 Rubik’s Cube competition at the World Championships. The documentary offers insight into how the two competitors became involved in the competition scene, their friendship, and their progress in the World Championships.
Director Sue Kim’s documentary is excellent. It is a very gentle exploration of a competition scene that not many people know about. The editing adds a great sense of kinetic energy to the proceedings, constantly using b-roll footage of Zemdegs, Park, and their fellow competitors solving Rubik’s Cubes of all different shapes and sizes. This is a very kind documentary, one that chooses to celebrate its subjects regardless of their success or failure on any given day. The importance here is the bond these particular competitors share, not who takes the title or record on any given day.
Perhaps the most remarkable element of the documentary is the portrayal of Max Park’s story. It is very rare to see positive, non-judgmental portrayals of autistic people in media. Park’s parents candidly discuss how Max has used his interest and skill in solving Rubik’s Cubes of all different varieties to help him navigate the world. Max doesn’t do any of the interviews by himself, but he his voice is heard in conversations with his family and Felix throughout training, press, nights out, and the competition itself. When the film does feature the reality of a negative response to losing a competition, it is in a very calm way with a lot of context provided. Kim is very careful with how much she shows of this in a way few other filmmakers would choose to be. Max clearly has a strong support system in his family and friends that are working with him and his interests as a teenage boy to develop independent life skills.
The Speed Cubers is only 40 minutes long and it’s a just a kind, gentle documentary about two rivals and friends in a competition. This is a competition for people of all ages, where the initial cost of entry is the price of a toy for children. Younger viewers will see a fast-moving film about a goal they could possibly work towards, while older viewers will appreciate a glimpse into the lives of competitors in a pretty novel competition. The emotional drama is second to celebrating the friendship between Max and Feliks as they bond and compete in cubing.
The Speed Cubers is currently streaming on Netflix.
