Going Vertical

A 2017 Russian sports drama directed by Anton Megerdichev. The film is based on true events and tells the story of the Soviet Union men's basketball team's victory over the USA team in the final of the 1972 Munich Olympics. The new coach of the USSR team, Vladimir Garanzhin (Vladimir Mashkov), decides to revamp the team by bringing in players from various Soviet republics. He faces resistance from sports officials and internal conflicts within the team but persistently prepares his players for the ultimate goal — defeating the previously unbeatable USA team. In the dramatic and tense final match, the Soviet basketball players achieve the impossible, securing victory in the last seconds of the game. The film captures the atmosphere of the era, portraying the personal dramas of the players and the complex relationships within the team. The cast also includes Andrey Smolyakov, Ivan Kolesnikov, Kirill Zaitsev, Sergey Garmash, Marat Basharov, and Viktoriya Tolstoganova.