New York
I find most films nowadays as fascinating as a lengthy history of orthodontics but then I’m spoilt rotten, having watched old black-and-white pearls such as From Here to Eternity, The Asphalt Jungle and My Man Godfrey. When Chariots of Fire came out some 40 years ago I went bananas. My uncle had competed in the hurdles in both the 1932 and 1936 Olympics, and my father was on the relay team. Athletics back then were for pure amateurs only, and as in the case of the great Jim Thorpe, anyone caught having ever been paid even a dollar for competing in any sport in or out of the Olympics was obliged to give the medal back. Chariots of Fire captured the will, luminosity and purity of the amateur athlete who competes honourably for glory and would rather die than cheat. Which brings me to the latest film my friend Michael Mailer has directed, and whose premiere I attended last week in the Bagel.
In brief, it’s Chariots of Fire on water. Heart of Champions was inspired by a true life story that took place back in 1936. Nine working-class boys in America’s Northwest decided to challenge the upper-class crews that made up the Harvard, Yale and Princeton rowing teams that were competing to represent Uncle Sam in the Berlin 1936 Olympics. To everyone’s amazement, they ended up winning, going to Berlin and winning again, beating Italy and Germany in the final. Apparently even the Führer was impressed when told of their background. There have been books (The Boys in the Boat) and documentaries about it.
Michael’s movie has nothing to do with that event, and is set in 1999 in a fictional university battling against Harvard and other grand schools.
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