United States won Cold War not because of its technological prowess or moral superiority, but because its prosperity and abundance of opportunities represented powerful alternative to suffocating realities of the decaying socialist state. Unsurprisingly, many individuals from the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, when given the opportunity, tried to cross it and start new lives. One of those is the protagonist of Streets of Gold, 1986 sports drama directed by Joe Roth. A decade ago Alek Neuman (played by Klaus Maria Brandauer) used to be talented boxer and Soviet national champion, but, as a Jew, couldn’t stand his anti-Semitic coach which led to altercation and abrupt end of his career. Now he is an immigrant in New York, forced to live out of kindness of his former countrymen and make ends meet as dishwasher, with most of his salary eaten by alcohol and self-pity. Things change one evening when he attends street boxing event featuring two young and talented players – Timmy Boyle (played by Adrian Pasdar) who happens to be white, and Roland Jenkins (played by Wesley Snipes) who happens to be black. He gets an idea to use his skills and experience as their coach, but his plan is beset with difficulties. First he has to convince both men that he has what it takes to advance their careers, and, second, Boyle and Jenkins hate each other. Hard work nevertheless pays off and both men become effective fighters and friends who would join US amateur boxing team in the match against visiting Soviet boxing team, which is good opportunity for Alek to exact revenge on his former oppressors.
Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer was one of the greatest names of 1980s cinema. Streets of Gold represents one of only two Hollywood films in which he had starring role. His performance is, unsurprisingly, very good and probably the main reason why should anyone watch this film. The rest of the cast does decent job, including Spanish actress Angela Molina in thankless role of obligatory love interest, but the more interesting are Adrian Pasdar and Wesley Snipes, young actors who would in next few years build impressive careers. Russian-speaking immigrant neighbourhood of Brighton Beach is used as genuine location and the community is portrayed with great deal of sympathy, unlike the post-Cold War years when Hollywood films would depict it as cesspool of organised crime. Streets of Gold is very interesting film, especially in the first half when it introduces somewhat unusual character and its setting, but in second half it succumbs to cliches and predictability and begins to look like a cheap copy of Rocky IV, especially during the final match. Uninspired synthesiser-heavy score by composer Jack Nitzsche makes this film sound much cheaper than it actually is. Although very good in some segments and generally solid, Streets of Gold should be recommended mostly to Brandauer fans.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/42026-streets-of-gold Critic: AA
