ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Olympics

Running Against the Wind: Two Men, Two Worlds

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Directed and co-written by Jan Phillip Weil, Running Against the Wind is simply stunning. Running tells the story of two twelve-year-old boys who grew up together in a remote village in Ethiopia. A promising young runner, Abdi (Ashenafi Nigusu) dreams of one day reaching the Olympics and representing his country. Meanwhile, Solomon (Mikias Wolde) yearns to become a photographer. When a conflict causes the boys to part ways, Solomon disappears into the city of Addis Ababa while Solomon remains home. Ten years later, as Abdi is competing for the chance to live his dream, he heads to Addis Ababa in order to further train. When he discovers that Solomon is still alive, Abdi attempts to save his old friend by using his celebrity status to elevate his life. But can Solomon truly move on from his past or will it come to haunt him?

Set in the heart of Ethiopia, Running not only tells the story of two men. It also highlights the vast gap between two worlds. From urban to rural or rich to poor, Weil holds different environments and philosophies up against one another, emphasizing the gap between them through his use of visuals. Bleached by the heat of its dry, summer colours, Running often burns onscreen in the daylight. However, the cool of the night also provides its own brand of menace as neon lights give the scenes a terrifying glow. For many, there is no respite from their daily struggles and Weil rarely allows the viewer to become comfortable with either world.

What’s more, the film also highlights the bizarre nature of fortune. Though both men desired success and possess incredible skills, their lives landed in very different situations. Whereas Abdi chose to remain home and develop his athletic abilities, Solomon’s attempt to make his own fortune as a photographer in the big city left him in abject poverty. As such, their parallel stories beg the question as to why these things happen? Why does one child find success and another suffer? Wisely, the film does not try to offer any particular solutions but allows these issues to linger. (Interestingly, Abdi does suggest that ‘God has blessed him’ but the film does so in a way that makes this feel more like a question than an answer.) 

Interestingly, while it suggests that fame and financial success may be desirable, neither does the film glorify it either. Although Abdi may live in a world of celebrity status, there’s an emptiness that plagues him along the way. His journey has given him much but he has lost a part of his soul in the process. At the same time, even though many may view him as a loser, Solomon has also maintained a better sense of his identity despite the struggles he faces on a daily basis.

In this way, Running shows the value of both men and the talents that they have to contribute to the world. Despite the fact that both Abdi and Solomon struggle to break free from their upbringing, so too do each find ways to take positive steps for their future without ignoring their past. Despite the fact that they are shamed by others for their childhood, so too do they attempt to reconcile both worlds. As a photographer, Solomon wants his work to feel ‘real’ rather than simply make press photos. For Abdi, his love for his brother gives him the heart to help, despite the warnings of his coach who worries about his divided attention. In moments such as these, Running demonstrates that, even in a world divided by a horrible caste system, both worlds matter.

This is a film that shows hope exists.

As the credits roll, there’s little doubt as to why Ethiopia would send this as their submission to this year’s Oscars. With a heart of compassion and honest, Running Against the Wind is utterly compelling from start to finish. More importantly though, it spins a narrative that both celebrates and challenges the lives of those who continue to struggle just to make it through the day.

Running Against the Wind is available on VOD on Friday, July 9th, 2021.

Richard Jewell: The End of the Innocence

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They’re a common sight around malls, retail stores, and companies these days. They help make sure things go smoothly yet are often ignored or make fun of. Of course, I’m referring to the humble security guard.

Perhaps the most infamous of all security personnel in the past 25 years has to be Richard Jewell. For the younger generation, his name is not one that will likely register as important. Director Clint Eastwood wants to change that with his latest film Richard Jewell. It is a tale of heroism, woe, and frustration that will reward the patient filmgoer and serves as a reminder of life before the world’s innocence was shattered one fateful evening.

Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) was a rather portly individual who lived in the Atlanta area and had a dream of getting into law enforcement. He was good with guns, extremely good at remembering things, but absolutely lousy in people to people relationships. His track record wasn’t the best either, partially due to the people he was trying to protect making fun of or simply ignoring him.

At the opening of the film, Jewell’s trying to make ends meet as a supply clerk in a law firm. He encounters Watson Bryant (Sam Rockwell), a no-nonsense lawyer who doesn’t take anything from anyone, including elected officials. The two briefly get to know each other over candy bars and a discussion in a video arcade before Jewell takes another job, this time as security detail at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. There, he helps protect a music venue inside Centennial Park, the hub of action outside the sporting venues.

All is well for the first few concerts until one fateful evening when Jewell spots a suspicious backpack under a bench near the sound and lighting tower. He calls the police over to check (this is an international event, after all) and begins getting people out of the way. Suddenly the backpack explodes, raining fire and shrapnel throughout the park. Two people were killed and over 100 injured, transforming the capital city of Georgia instantaneously. Jewell goes home that evening, content that he helped keep the situation from being significantly worse.

The next day, he discovers that his observation and quick thinking has won him fame in the eyes of the world. People want to talk to him on television, people cheer when they see him, and he becomes an instant celebrity. Meanwhile, the FBI begins to look into who planted the backpack and called 911 with a warning about the bomb. They don’t have any real leads, but after acquiring information from Jewell’s past, they suddenly begin to think he was the culprit, doing it for fame and notoriety. With that, Richard’s quiet lifestyle (he lives in an apartment building with his mother [played by the always excellent Kathy Bates]) is completely shattered as the FBI does everything possible to make him the world’s biggest enemy.

Usually such situations are kept fairly quiet. However, Kathy Scruggs, a rather arrogant and pushy reporter from the Atlanta Journal newspaper (played with realistic smarminess by Olivia Wilde) is able to coerce one of the FBI detectives to inform her who they’re going after. They have a paper to print, you know. When she finds out, she makes the FBI’s intentions known to the world. 

Cue circus music.

Jewell suddenly cannot move more than 15 feet without a reporter yelling questions at him or hearing the shutters of cameras go off. He doesn’t know what to do. At this point, he reaches for the one person who might be able to help him–the lawyer he stocked with candy bars a few months earlier. Since then, Watson Bryant has gone into his own practice and decides to help the poor guy out. The question is whether the mass of humanity descending on Jewell or the FBI will destroy him first. 

Richard Jewell is a film that, for me, hit very close to home. You see, I was at Centennial Park a few hours before the bomb exploded. I played in the fountains and snapped a few 35mm pictures before heading back to South Carolina. That night, my friends and I huddled around a television set, aghast at the video news outlets were showing of the aftermath and thankful to God that we left when we did. I also distinctly remember the media’s evisceration of Jewell and how he was made to look like had the whole bombing planned (in reality, Eric Rudolph confessed to it a few months later). I remember feeling sorry for the guy but had no idea how much his life changed as a result of the FBI and media. Of course, the film shows Jewell as an avid owner of guns and is extremely knowledgeable about security–things the FBI used against him. Bryant tells him to not say anything, but he keeps talking (since he’s so big into law enforcement), making things worse on everyone around him. It’s only after he realizes how the ordeal has hurt his mother that he finally gets the nerve to confront the FBI directly. 

As for the film itself, it’s very good and has some incredible acting. Bates was nominated for a Golden Globe recently for her role as Jewell’s mom Bobi. Hauser and Rockwell are great in their individual roles but magical when they share the screen. You see and feel their relationship build, change, and eventually transform each other. Munn seems to me to be the weak link, but after giving it some thought, she adds a necessary layer to transform the film from ho-hum to must-see. And this is a film that deserves to be seen and its voice heard for past, present, and future generations. 

That evening in Centennial Park, anyone off the street could walk in–there were police around, but no layer of security other than presence. One week later, I returned to Atlanta to see a handball match and found a completely different city. There was a feeling of nervousness everywhere. Security was beefed up considerably. In fact, in order to visit the park again, I had to go through two separate bag checks. The innocence was gone, never to be reclaimed again. 

At one point on this planet, there was innocence and no need for protection. Adam and Eve were sinless at first, having their pick of whatever they wanted to do and to eat. Sure, God warned them not to eat from one specific tree, but there was no security guard around for enforcement. When they finally gave in and tasted of the forbidden fruit, things changed. The innocence was lost. God, after a stern lecture, kicked them out of Eden–and added security detail in the form of a flaming sword so they could never get in again. Sin is costly, but it doesn’t have to rule in us thanks to Jesus and his birth, life, death, and return to life once more. He’s ready to forgive all those who call on him to do so.

Make sure you put Richard Jewell on your must-see list this year. It’s thrilling, harrowing, and a sobering reminder of innocence lost–both individually and as a society.

Special features include both “The Real Story of Richard Jewell” and “The Making of Richard Jewell” with many of the principles (Eastwood, Hamm, Rockwell, Bates, etc.) included.

I, Tonya – Whose Truth?

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“I was loved for a minute, then I was hated.”

Figure skating is all about elegance and grace. So when in 1994 the sport took on a violent aspect with an attack on a top skater before the Olympics, it became one of the early examples of TV tabloid journalism. I, Tonya tells the story of Tonya Harding who was at the center of the controversy because her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly masterminded the attack on a rival skater. In the days and weeks that followed the story became more sensationalized by the day. Screenwriter/producer Steve Rogers has crafted a dark comedy from the strange, almost absurdist, true events. It is based in part on interviews Rogers did with Harding and Gillooly, now in their 40s. The widely different stories each told became the structure for the film.

The story follows the life of Harding (Margot Robbie) from childhood to the present day. Even before “The Incident”, she never really fit well into the skating world, in spite of her talent and skill. She came from an abusive household. Her mother LaVona Golden (Allison Janney) was both physically and emotionally violent. Her escape was to marry Gillooly (Sebastian Stan) at an early age. This too turned into a violent, abusive relationship. It should be pointed out that Harding was not just a victim, but could be violent herself. All of this contributed to a low self-image. At times, she felt like she deserved the abuse. And much of her competitiveness was an attempt to be loved.

Much of the humor of the film comes from the personalities. LaVona Golden is an especially over the top character (and played to the hilt by Janney). It’s hard to image a mother so cruel and crude, yet we can’t get enough of her on screen. Likewise, the relationship between Harding and Gillooly, often with sudden explosive violence, may seem too dark for humor, yet we can’t help but follow along because the story is told in such an appealing style.

The film takes its time getting to The Incident, but when it does make it into the story, it is the beginning of one of the all time great comedies of errors. When we speak of the media circus that developed because of it, circus is the appropriate word because the clowns take center stage. Again here, the story is told from different perspectives, so there is more than one version of what happened.

Since there are multiple versions of the same story, this becomes a study on how we can know the truth. The memories of what happened are so different that it is impossible to piece them together to form a clear picture of who was or was not involved. The tabloid journalism that latched on to this story only made the search for truth murkier. The 24-hour news cycle and its need to keep a story alive may actually make the truth harder to find. In a world where “fake news” is frequently charged and even outlandish ideas are given coverage in the name of “balance”, this story serves as a challenge for us to seek truth amid all the hoopla and distraction.

When I saw this film at AFI Fest, it played to a packed house. It wasn’t one of the films I was especially looking forward to but I found it enjoyable in the absurd humor and the idiocy of the characters. Though, when a few weeks later I saw a trailer in the theater, I thought to myself, “I wouldn’t want to see that.” So, perhaps if you’re put off by the trailer, you may want to consider that there is more here than the trailer suggests.

Photos courtesy of Neon.

A Fighting Chance – Olympic Dreams

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The Rio Olympics are around the corner. Some countries have massive programs that provide support and sponsorship for athletes in many sports. The athletes can devote a major part of their lives to their sport. The U.S. has training facilities and developmental programs that give our athletes every chance at excelling. And we always have a large number of medals. But the Olympics are not always about getting a medal. Sometimes the biggest trial is just getting there in the first place. A Fighting Chance is a short documentary that focuses on four Olympic hopefuls from nations that do not have all the advantages that the U.S. and other large countries have. Yet their dreams are just as big as those of star performer.

3. Tsepo Mathibelle_Action

The film from Morgan Neville shares some themes with his Oscar winning doc 20 Feet from Stardom, about backup singers in pop music. This film introduces us to Tsepo Mathibelle, a marathon runner from Lesotho. This will be his second Olympics. In 2012 he was the final runner to finish the race, well behind the pack, but refused to give up. We also meet Miller Pata and Linline Matauatu, a beach volleyball team from the small island nation of Vanuatu, and Yenebier Guillén Benitez, a woman boxer from the Dominican Republic. Tsepo has qualified for the Rio games, Miller and Linline, and Yenebier are still trying to qualify.

4. Yenebier Guillen Benitez_Action

All three stories deal with dreams and barriers. These are all people who come from nations without great resources. Even for Yenebier, who comes from a country with a history of boxing, it has always been about men boxers. For all of these athletes, they must do their training while working hard to help their families get by in the day to day, and even in the face of catastrophe. They all have family life that is very important to them. They all also speak of their faith that God has blessed them with their gifts and that they are conscious of God being with them as they strive to get to Rio.

3. Miller Pata & Linline Matauatu_Action

Over a million athletes worldwide train for the Olympics, but only about one percent achieve that goal. These stories are much different than much of what American and Canadian viewers will see on their TVs during the games. In some ways, people like Yenebier, Miller, Linline, and Tsepo are the best examples of the Olympic spirit. When we watch professionals in tennis or basketball this year—or even the swimmers, track stars, or gymnasts who have been carefully groomed and coached and supported by corporate sponsorship, I hope we can remember the many participants from around the world who are there because of their dreams and who have had to struggle in very different ways on the road to Rio.

This film currently is streaming for free on Vimeo, Samsung YouTube, and Amazon Prime.