Legend No. 17 is a 2013 Russian film that tells the story of the star Soviet hockey player Valeri Kharlamov. The film centers on the first game of the Super Series, a 1972 series of 8 games to be played between the Soviet National Hockey Team and Canadian professional players, who were said to be the best players in the world.
Valeri Kharlamov was born January 14, 1948 in Moscow to Boris and Begonita Kharlamov. Begoñita, who was born Carmen Orive Abad, was originally from Bilbao, Spain, but moved to the Soviet Union in 1937 as a refugee from the Spanish Civil War. He was named after Valery Chkalov, a pioneering Soviet pilot. Due to his mother's heritage, Kharlamov would be nicknamed "The Spaniard" throughout his career.
The film does a good job of painting a picture of Kharlamov's life as it jumps around from his time as a child in Spain to his early years of playing hockey.
Actor Danila Kozlovskiy does a fantastic job of carrying the film as Kharlamov as does the rest of the supporting cast in their respective roles.
While I can't comment on dialogue, my Russian is flimsy at best, you feel, see and hear the inflection in each actors voice when speaking. Even if you don't understand everything that is said you get the gist and it comes across very well.
Legend No. 17 is one of the best hockey biopics that I have seen in some time. This is one of those films that should sit on every hockey fans' shelf right in between Miracle and Slap Shot.
Rating: 8/10 Pucks