Rising from Ashes (RWANDAN FILM REVIEW)
Rising from Ashes
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Bike Racing Documentary Chronicles Rise of Rwanda Cycling Team
Over the course of a hundred days in
1994, the East African nation of Rwanda experienced an ethnic
cleansing which consumed the lives of nearly a fifth of the population. The
mass slaughter came as a consequence of a revolt by the majority tribe, the
Hutus, against the Tutsis, a minority which, with the help of the country’s
European colonizers, had enjoyed a higher social and economic status for
centuries.
A few years after the cessation of the
civil war, American bike racing legend Jock Boyer was looking for a chance at
redemption in the wake of being paroled after serving time in prison for lewd
behavior. He found that opportunity he needed upon moving to Rwanda at the
suggestion of a friend.
There, he took on the unenviable
challenge of coaching the national cycling team. And over the next six years he
trained them while teaching them how to compete on the level of World-Class athletes
with the hope of one day qualifying for the Olympics.
That seemingly impossible quest is
the subject of Rising from Ashes, an uplifting, overcoming-the-odds documentary
directed by T.C. Johnstone. Narrated by Forest Whitaker, the film introduces us
to the ragtag crew of raw recruits, including prima donna Abraham, mischievous
Nathan and strongman Nyandwi, that Jock had to try to whip into fighting shape.
But besides athleticism, the
intrepid coach had to worry about his young protégés equipment, since they were
riding on quarter century-old, brakeless, wooden bikes ordinarily employed as
taxis or to deliver huge sacks of produce. An even bigger hurdle had to do with
the fact that each was also still suffering from deep, psychological turmoil
caused by the mass slaughter they’d witnessed of a million fellow citizens.
For instance, the team’s star,
Adrien, had lost sixty members of his family, including six brothers and everyone
on his mother’s side of the clan. For that reason, besides salaries, health
care and education, some of the squad’s funds were devoted to addressing daunting
mental health issues.
An inspirational illustration of how
the Olympics came to serve
as a unifying step in terms of exorcising the demons ever haunting Rwanda’s grisly
killing fields.
Very Good
(3 stars)
Unrated
In English and Kinyarwanda with subtitles
Running time: 80 minutes
Distributor: First
Run Features
To see a trailer for Rising
from Ashes, visit:
No comments:
Post a Comment