The Speed Cubers

Movie review by Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media
The Speed Cubers Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 8+

Inspiring short docu about competition and friendship.

PG 2020 40 minutes
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Parents say

age 8+

Based on 5 reviews

Kids say

age 9+

Based on 6 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

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What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Speed Cubers is a short documentary by Sue Kim about the world of competitive Rubik's Cube speed solving. Two leading solvers are profiled, with the film evolving into a story of friendship and growth, decency and generosity, and overcoming hardships. The seemingly greatest speed cuber of all time is 17-year-old Max Park, a young Californian competitor with autism. His parents, who encouraged his gift for cubing, hoped participating in competitions would help him learn social and emotional skills. Thanks to his friendship with the world champion he unseated, Max took away far more from the experience than they could ever have imagined. This is an inspirational movie that will appeal to all ages.

Community Reviews

Mparson
Mparson Adult
January 8, 2021
age 11+

Disappointing! Poorly structured and ableist

Parent of two autistic kids, one of whom is a competitive speed cuber: This film was poorly put together and, at times, offensive to autistic people, which is especially disappointing given the large number of autistic people who participate in the sport. I cringed watching it with my autistic son. It was painful to watch the ableist and patronizing way that Max Park (autistic cubing champion and one of the two main cubers featured) is talked about by his non-autistic parents. The filmmakers take an inspiration porn approach to Max's story, Max is repeatedly infantilized by his parents, and he is never given a chance to speak or otherwise share his own thoughts in the film. This is upsetting on many levels, but it is also just lazy filmmaking. The documentary is also very poorly paced and structured, perhaps because the winner of the competition turned out to be neither Park nor Zemdegs (the two main cubers featured). Feliks Zemdegs (who is given ample chances to talk) does come across as a genuinely lovely person in the film, but even he can't save a regrettable piece of storytelling. Common Sense Media should have the sense not to give this film top billing. As someone with a neurodiverse family, however, I find that CSM is often insensitive to ableism and inspiration porn in movies that feature disabled individuals, especially autistic people. It would be great to have some actually autistic people rating these films for CSM. BTW, there is a MUCH better documentary, Why We Cube, that features some of the same cubers, including Feliks and Max, available on YouTube. Max Park's parents also appear in it, but they are given far less screen time and the focus of Why We Cube is on cubing as a community. It is a much more positive and enjoyable film.
F Letcher
F Letcher Adult
August 24, 2020
age 8+

Must-see family watching

This is one of the best documentaries we've ever seen for kids! The highlight is a beautiful example of selfless, 'other'-centered friendship that withstands the stress of two boys trying become the best Rubiks Cubers in the world. A must-see for every family.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 5 parent reviews

What's the Story?

The world of competitive Rubik's Cube solving is revealed in THE SPEED CUBERS, a 2020 short documentary by Sue Kim. Competitors come together from around the world for national and world meets to perform the high-pressure feat of solving different sized cubes while the stopwatch runs, in some cases blindfolded or one-handed. Hungarian architect Erno Rubik originally invented the Cube in 1974, and quickly discovered he couldn't solve it, but he launched a challenge that others rose to. Feiiks Zemdegs, 23, a cheerful young Australian cuber, dominated the field for many years until Californian Max Park, 17, starting breaking into the upper echelon in recent years. Diagnosed with autism at an early age, Max took to cubing quickly. His parents viewed the gift as a window into teaching him social skills that other parents take for granted in their growing kids. By his second competition, Max started winning and eventually met his idol, Feliks. Feliks, six years older, greeted his rival warmly and graciously, even as Max began breaking Feliks' hard-won world records. The movie records beautiful moments in their growing friendship, which has continued even as Max has beaten Feliks repeatedly. Feliks and Max both lost the 2019 World competition, at which time they both repeated their shared mantra that loss "makes you stronger."

Is It Any Good?

This begins as a typical documentary about dedicated kids competing under high pressure, but almost immediately becomes so much more. Director Kim offers an emotional, inspiring, uplifting story about overcoming obstacles, about parental wisdom and devotion, and about friendship between rivals who love each other. As The Speed Cubers describes, speed cubing requires cubers apply the mind-boggling ability to apply hundreds of algorithms in seconds as they combine that skill with extraordinary digital dexterity. Cubing fans may also enjoy Why We Cube: A Speedcubing Documentary and Cubers. Feliks Zemdegs hosts a YouTube channel on cubing tips and a website, CubeSkills, offering tutorials on how to solve Rubik's Cubes.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how it must have felt to Max when his hero Feliks offered his friendship. Why is it important to have role models?

  • What do you think both Feliks and Max have learned about competing in The Speed Cubers? How do they handle loss?

  • Max's parents talk about what Max learned from competing among crowds, learning to stand in line, to wait his turn, to interact with officials and other competitors. How do you think his parents' downplaying the importance of winning helped him become a better competitor and also helped him grow as a person?

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