Wrestling Yetis

Motivating employees can be a difficult task. Even Peter, whose map-making business was inspired by his grandfather's legendary wrestling of a yeti, struggles to invest his staff with the spirit of adventure. So he hires a motivational trainer, Tibor, to try and make them happier. Things don't go according to plan.

A slight but deftly presented tale, Wrestling Yetis delivers deadpan observational comedy alongside an understated emotional journey that suggests its protagonist has been looking for something rather more than professional commitment all along. Downstairs, the staff of an insurance company are enviably happy. Like many small business owners, Peter has devoted himself to his company to the point where he needs it to give something back on a personal level, but sticking to the professional rulebook inevitably distances him from that.

Richard Holt gives us a Peter who is straightforward yet endearingly vulnerable. As Tibor, Oleg Kalninsh is a little too intense. There isn't really room here to develop a Gervais-style comedy of awkwardness, so whilst the various motivational stunts themselves may be entertaining (and inspire sympathy in office workers who have been forcefully motivated themselves), Kalninsh's facial mugging doesn't really fit. A subplot tacked on at the end is sweet but feels similarly askew from the main thread of the film.

Professionally produced and nicely styled, Wrestling Yetis is a promising little film that might have benefited from being just a couple of minutes longer. It's an idea that doesn't feel fully fleshed out, but within its limits, it's a nice piece of work.

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