The familiar story of attempting to overcome a traumatic injury is given additional resonance with this story of a Norwegian MMA fighter, whose personality is tied to his physicality. But Geir Kåre Nyland has to try and deal with a frightening new existence, while also attempting to face up to family and personal traumas long unaddressed that have impacted on the way he deals with life.
Very much defined by his physical prowess and full-on attitude to life and sport, Geir Kåre’s life is bluntly and brutally changed one sunny and glorious day in Oslo city centre, when – ever the irrepressible leader – he dived headfirst off a quay. He did not know that the water was shallow, and his misadventure resulted in a broken back and paralysis.
The film opens with archival footage of Geir Kåre winning an MMA fight, with the commentator shouting out: “He is a Viking. He is used to going abroad and ravaging.”
From this vibrant and visceral footage, co-directors Sunniva Sundby and Mari Bakke Riise’s film makes a 180-degree switch to static black-and-white as it shows the security camera footage of Geir Kåre, his arms by his side, diving head-first into the water, as friends and other locals enjoy the warm first day of summer.
Through remarkable family footage from inside the hospital, the film charts his uncertainty as to whether he will ever be the same again; scenes of stitches being removed from his extensive back wound; tears as he is told it is unlikely he will ever walk again, and frank conversations with his doctors about whether he will be able to have sex again, with him saying: “I feel ashamed because I can’t perform as I used to…what makes me a man.” This young man still has a six-pack and muscular upper arms, but his back is broken and he can’t move his legs.
Family footage of him as a child show him gambolling energetically through life. “I was a little energy bomb that moved around, climbed, jumped, ran and crawled,” he says.
Geir Kåre investigates all sorts of alternative treatments, travels to Panama with his girlfriend for stem cell treatment. Things, though, start to falter in their relationship. “He told me he loved me for the first time in the emergency room,” she says. “I was happy but wished he had said it earlier.” He initially can’t face going back to their apartment, but when he reluctantly does, their relationship becomes increasingly stilted, with him complaining about treatment costs, getting frustrated about the amount of rehab work and talking about not wanting to live.
Eventually – and sadly – she decides to go: “Leaving him like this feels so terrible. I hate being the one to hurt him more. He’s been through so much, there was no space for my pain,” she says. “All the talk about him not wanting to live, I was so scared and felt so much responsibility. I love him so much. I’ll always be there for him, but not as his girlfriend.”
The film takes another turn as Geir Kåre goes to stay with his father and has a frank – but much-needed – conversation about the domestic abuse suffered by Geir Kåre’s mother. He tells his father how scared he was as a child, and how he told his mother he would never be like his father, and while his father attempts to explain his behaviour, the underlying sense is that Geir Kåre took to MMA as a reaction to what he saw and experienced, and eventually he sees as psychologist to talk about growing up with violence.
The film comes to a close with a sense of positivity. Still in a wheelchair, Geir Kåre visits the spot in Oslo where he injured himself for the first time. He also heads to shops to buy some new clothes. Through on-line dating he has a tentative new relationship with Marte, and as they spend time together he explains his complex feelings about himself.
In one sense, Fighter is a film about fighting to overcome physical odds, but at its heart it is also about fighting to recover and understand the true nature of love, hope and friendship…for oneself and for others.
Norway, 2025, 82mins
Dirs/scr: Sunniva Sundby, Mari Bakke Riise
Production: A5 Films
International sales: Trust Nordisk
Producers: Mari Bakke Riise, Silje Evensmo Jackobsen
Cinematography: Sunniva Sundby, Fred Arne Wergeland, Espen Gjerundrød, Mari Bakke Riise, Line K Lyngstadaas, Lars Erland Tubaas Oymo, Aleksandar Nenad Zecevic
Editors: Kristian Tveit, Trine Nordmark Børstad, Sunniva Sundby
Music: Filip Eidsvåg
With: Geir Kåre Nyland
