Very Inspiring and Memorable

Rating: 8/10 (11 October 2013)

I think most people know "Chariots of Fire" because of the opening scene, in which runners cross the beach in slow-motion while Vangelis' famous theme song plays in the background.
"Chariots of Fire" tells the story of Harold Abrahams, an Englishman of Jewish origins that seems to have a good life. He studies in the best university of England, he has good friends, and he is in love with a beautiful soprano. But above all he loves running and is very good at this. Yet something worries him: people discriminate him for his Jewish origins, especially the Masters of the University, and he wants to compete in the Olympics to overcome this.
The second main character in the movie is Eric Lidell, a Scottish student, member of the Reformed Catholic Church, who is a nice person and a great preacher. Eric loves running and similar to Harold he competes in local races and always wins. But his sister thinks he is more concerned in running than in serving to God and she wants he go with his family in a mission to China. Eric also wants to go but he thinks God made him an excellent runner, and now he wants to run in his name at the Olympic Games.
This is not a religious movie though. It is a movie about honor, sportsmanship and glory. It is about two men who love running and want to prove something by doing it. Two men who have different beliefs and belong to different social classes and want to overcome their difficulties by winning at the Olympic Games. The acting is good (especially Ian Holm as Harold's trainer), the score (with his synthesizer music) is memorable, and the movie is well-written and directed. It also presents some critiques to the British social class system and shows the courage of these men who tried to defend their beliefs and achieved the glory, not just for their nation but for themselves.
Summarizing, "Chariots of Fire" is not a perfect movie and sometimes it feels generic in respect to others sports movies, but all flaws aside it represents a very moving and inspiring picture.
My Score: 8.4