Watchers and Doers

Rating: Null/10 (1 November 2004)

Spoilers herein.
Rich American universities hire bunches of black kids to play basketball for them. Then if they do well, it somehow reinforces the schools' identity, even to the point of increasing in their mind the value of the education. I'm not kidding, if you don't know the US system.
Similarly, if a few gymnasts go to the Olympics in the name of your country, they somehow reinforce your national identity when they win. That's because both the universities (excepting MIT) and the Olympic community have shamelessly exploited the assignment of self.
This film is strictly formulaic, but expertly edited. The skating camera-work here is the star and gives a thrill. This is very much in the tradition of 'Red Shoes,' in how it blurs the line between the watcher and the dancer.
That's the point of this. It plays off the political nature of the game. It begins with an effective collage of cold war related political images - not images of events so much but images that have become tokens in their own right. Prominent shots of the World Trade Center are included. The idea is clearly that if the US can beat the Rooskies, then any miracle of victory is possible.
So we get the 'Mighty Ducks' story, except these kids get motivated by representing the US against their militaristic Soviet counterparts. You will get excited by the game, and likely feel dirty as a result of having been so jingoistically manipulated.
Here's the thing that interests me: how the story is folded into the manner of its telling. Disney's method is to drill, drill, drill so that the competitive 'play' becomes natural. The idea is to not be particularly creative, like the 'All-Stars' are. Disney eschews stars, going for the team. A success reflects on the brand.
Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.