Inspirational, and which almost drove me to tears.

Rating: 9/10 (6 July 2006)

It's been a year since London is being awarded as host for the 2012 Olympics. I know this all too well, because it was announced from here in my country a year ago. The man responsible for bringing the biggest sporting event on Earth to London (six years from now, given now a year has passed since) is also the one who once reenact the scene (the running scene on Cambridge grounds between Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams) with his then-rival on the track Steve Ovett - Sebastian Coe. Interestingly back then when I was reading and checking about his life as the Olympic runner, this movie's name surfaced.
This is how it all began. Very interesting way of how I learnt of this movie.
This is based on the real-life story of the lives on a British Jew (Harold Abrahams) and a Scottish Christian (Eric Liddell) in leading to the 1928 Olympics in Paris. One who run for the sake of removing those prejudices against fellow Jews like him, and the other who did it for the sake of his religion. Their lives crossed each other many a times, from the time of their Cambridge days. Liddell even made a radical decision not to participate in a race which was supposed to be held on a Sunday when the Olympics was going on at that time. Doing it for the sake of his religion.
A moving and inspirational story where people do a common thing (in the case here, the Olympics) for the sake of very different reasons. The opening theme to the movie...I so know at once it's the one where it is often used for mega events like the Olympics. One of those tunes which still kept giving me goosebumps whenever I hear it!
This movie - definitely really recommended.