Murderball

Title: Murderball
Rating: 5/5
Genre: Documentary
Directors: Henry Alex Robin, Dana Adam Shapiro

Rugby is not a nice sport and it's not something anyone can endure to play. It will get mean and it will get nasty, but when we hear that quadriplegics practice it, we want to recheck what we heard again. The film begins by explaining the rules of the quadriplegics' rugby division, taking the rivalry between "Team USA" and "Team Canada" as lead until they reach the 2004 Olympics in Athens, and greatly exploring the lives of individuals who overcame what was a during labor to become the happy people they are now. With honesty and simplicity, "Robin" and "Shapiro" show us how "will" can triumph. The matches we see are as hard and as touch as any full-contact sport we could think of, nothing is left out on court. But, what really matters, and what truly affected me, is the events we see outside of the court, a truly emotional experience of people who lost hope at a certain time in their lives, yet all that changed.

Some directors like to get really fancy and extravagant in the films they make, even if these are documentaries, while the team of directors here brought us a film that will easily enter the heart. Lasting less than an hour and a half, there's not fooling around. This is the downright fact of how it is to be in such a state. The emotions and the tensions, the doubts and the triumphs, we shall feel all. No is shy of saying what he thinks. Yet this isn't a bland film. It is effective. The directors decided to take it naturally. No weird camera angels or some "smart" way to discover the inner depth of human emotions. I was sad at one point, relieved at another, and also smiling at another. All this and I didn't experience anything of the inferno these people have went through. Many details are brought to our attention that we take them for granted in our casual life. For instance we see someone, with no arms and legs, during an educational day at school explaining how he eats pizza. "I just pick it up like this." This was darkly one of the most comical parts of the film. Someone with no arms and legs, holding a folder, and demonstrating to little kids how he can eat pizza.

There's a particular scene where one of the players describes one of his dreams where he flies. Such pretty animation was used to bring it up to convey his innermost desires. This isn't just following people around, no, but a show how an event could alter your life dramatically and let you face your inner demons. The film isn't shy about bringing up topics such as "sexual relations", yet it isn't a representation of a "They". We don't see humans in a pitiful state, but humans who face really hard times and have overcame the "pitiful state". The focus isn't the rugby itself, but the whole process of how can a quadriplegic do that. People usually believe quadriplegics can't go to the toilet themselves, while in some cases this is true; it's not a labor of Hercules. The film light-heartedly and smartly explores such topics.

I am sure anyone who sees "Murderball" will enjoy it and be affected by it, as I have been. This is how a documentary should be made. It is objective in the treatment yet is filled with heart. No superficial and superfluous information were introduced. For an Mtv production, I honestly didn't expect much, I admit I was wrong. In the end, it gives hope. Those of us who weren't struck by a gruesome life changing event would learn to appreciate more what they have after seeing this film. The people we will meet rose from rock bottom, and at the end, we will finish watching it with a smile. "Mark Zupan", one of the most important figures in the film stated: "We had been calling it Murderball, but you can't market Murderball to corporate sponsors."

Trailer