Review of Murderball (2005) by George P — 19 Aug 2005

[font=Verdana][color=wheat]July 8, 2005[/color][/font].

[font=Verdana][color=wheat][size=5][color=darkred][b][color=darkred]"[/color]M[/b][/color][/size]urderball? is the best sports movie I?ve ever seen. On top of that, it?s the best film I?ve seen this year. The emotional tug I felt was unlike any other I?d experienced at the movies in a long time. Watching these real people progress after experiencing near-fatal accidents is a testament [/color][/font][font=Verdana][color=wheat]to anyone that nothing is too hard to endure when you?ve got a love and [/color][/font][font=Verdana][color=wheat]focus, be it from other people or a sport that has you running into people [/color][/font][font=Verdana][color=wheat]with [/color][/font][font=Verdana][color=wheat]an aluminum wheelchair.[/color][/font].

[font=Verdana][color=wheat]Murderball is the nickname given to paraplegic rugby. The players wear no protection and play on a regulation-size gym for a no-holds-barred match. The number of players a team has on the floor is determined by the restrictions of each man?s limbs, which serve as points. A team is allowed up to eight points; each player must dribble or give up the ball in a matter of 10 seconds; and scoring is achieved by crossing the line with the ball intact. [/color][/font].

[font=Verdana][color=wheat]The filmmakers, Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro, structure their documentary around a rivalry between the United States and Canada. Each team has aspirations to win the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. It?s obvious Rubin and Shapiro were inspired by countless sports films on how to shape their story, but here it?s done right because they allow the players to give us their personal accounts of how they came to be handicapped, making the game more meaningful. All the while, the film maintains suspense and intrigue about who?s going to win. What's great about the big game this time is that it's real. [/color][/font].

[font=Verdana][color=wheat]I could name a half dozen fictional sports movies where screen time is only given to one team, while the other team is made out to be evil (these guys usually wear black uniforms). ?Murderball? disobeys that rule. [/color][/font][font=Verdana][color=wheat]From team USA, we meet Mark Zupan and Bob Lujano, among others; while from Canada the focus is on Joe Soares, a former team USA member and record-holder for murderball. We also meet non-athletes like Keith Cavill as well as their families. These men are confined to wheelchairs, but in a way they're blessed because their handicapp gives them incentives perhaps only pain and suffering could've given them.[/color][/font].

[font=Verdana][color=wheat]Over the months of training, we get to know these people on a deeply personal level. The film answers some of our most curious but taboo questions regarding handicapped individuals. For instance, paraplegics are often thought of as people who have no use of their limbs. Actually, as Zupan points out, "paraplegic" refers to the impairment of one?s limbs. And there?s a funny section devoted to man?s most treasured muscle. Most of the paraplegic men have wives and girlfriends. Their sex lives, we learn, are as lively as those of men who can walk.[/color][/font].

[font=Verdana][color=wheat]To describe any of the personal tragedies and triumphs discussed in the film would take away the emotional punch ?Murderball? has to offer. And to deny any viewer that pleasure would be a crime. I found myself crying during this movie ? but also laughing and jumping in my seat excitedly wondering who was going to win the gold. I thought less and less about each man's physical afflictions and more about their emotional ones. This allows viewers to connect with people who might otherwise seem too distant or differnt to relate to.[/color][/font].

[font=Verdana][color=wheat]?Murderball? is a wonderful, glorious film. It?s easily comparable to ?Hoop Dreams,? another amazing documentary that followed two up-and-coming basketball stars from the outskirts of Chicago. Like that film, ?Murderball? makes you care about the sport as much as the people. It has an unrestricted energy and honest heart. I?d be amazed if I were to see a better movie this year.[/color][/font].