A Moving Film, Albeit Verbose Occasionally

Rating: 8/10 (11 February 2012)

A number of sports movies turn up with predictable results; only a few of them surprise you. Generally, it's always the rise of the underdogs who live their sport, and manage to come up miraculously and win in the end. It ends with a cloying victory celebration in slow-mo. The surprising ones may not take this conventional approach, though it moves on similar lines. Chariots of Fire takes this unconventional approach of not turning the film into a German vs. Jew film where one is bad and the other is good. It does not take sides, but regards its characters as actual human beings with personal desires and goals and t prejudices.
Some may be disappointed with the 'Everyone's happy!' climax as there is always an adrenaline that even gushes among viewers when they watch a spots film; they want to cheer one side and jeer the other. In Chariots of Fire, the director takes a leisurely approach that insists viewers not to take sides but to enjoy the game. We do end up rooting for both the German and the Jew rather than placing our bets on one. This helps to avoid having a theme of 'acceptance between races', as while watching the film, one realizes that the 'racial discrimination' is more in the mind of the Jew rather than the others; the Jew's girlfriend laughs with disbelief at his perception regarding the Germans' bias towards Jews. By not taking sides, it has toned down the controversial matter. And it is generally advisable not to let such matters overshadow the main element of the film, that is 'race', which itself serves as a pun.
It is surprising that as I write the review, my perception regarding the film, which I only saw yesterday, widens. I am able to see the analogy between 'race' as a sport, and 'race' as in human race. The ending in the film is all the more satisfying to me now. The film is about the Olympics Event in 1924 which saw the victories of Harold Abraham, a Jewish runner and Eric Liddell, a devout Catholic runner. Both have their stories to tell – Harold is the son of a wealthy Jewish financier, who never tasted defeat in racing till he met his match in Liddell, a catholic who serves the Church and is constantly solicited by his sister to devote less time to races and more towards missionaries. Liddell, in a memorable line from the film, says 'God made me fast'. Both have reasons to race, but the satisfaction they get from winning is different. It can be seen not only from their running style but also on their faces when they cross the finish line. Abraham reveres Liddell, who runs like the wind and looks blissful when he wins. That creates a silent rivalry between them as both men want to prove.
The film manages to be inspiring, although it is not a perfect movie. Because it is British, the temperament among the racers itself is quite phlegmatic; it is like watching sheep running in a field. Indian films like Lagaan and Chak De India are louder and more ebullient while American films very exciting and fast-paced. It may bore many viewers who expected the sound of the gunshot and banging of loud drums and fast-paced racing. But is it not fascinating to observe the expressions on all those racers' faces when the film is in slow-mo? How funny is it to watch Lindsay's tongue sticking out like a dog when he runs? Or Liddell's almost orgasm-like reaction to winning? Or even Abraham's intense face determination?
The only complaints I had with the film was that at times, the monologues were too long. Also, Nicholas Farrell's Aubrey did not have much character development, in spite of being introduced in the beginning of the movie itself. Sybil Gordon's character was a distraction here; instead, more screen time could have been given to Aubrey, Abraham and Liddell. Plus Cheryl Campbell acted more like Liddell's fiancée than sister. The acting overall could have been a few notches higher, and there were moments when I found the character development, especially of Liddell to be weak. And I felt that a little more singing from Abraham was needed; he has a good singing voice. Chariots of Fire may not be immediately arousing but it will move you once you begin realizing the universality of the theme.
My Rating: 7.6 out of 10