Murderball is currently playing at artier theaters around the country - and this is definitely a documentary that shouldn’t be missed.

The movie is about a sport originally called “Murderball” by its creators (although it’s now known as the more sponsor-friendly “Quadraplegic Rugby”), in which two teams of quadraplegic men in crazy battering-ram wheelchairs fight for points. The rules, as described in the movie, are that players must pass or dribble every ten seconds to keep possession of the ball, and they have to cross the goal line with the ball in hand and two wheels on the ground to score. Meanwhile, the other team is doing everything they can to stop that score, which mostly means ramming opponents with full wheelchair fury. Even though the movie follows the US Wheelchair Rugby team closely as they train, then compete in the world championships and the Paralympic Games, it’s about a whole lot more than just the sport.

We are introduced to several members of the US team, each of whom reveals the painful story of how they became quadraplegics in a matter-of-fact way that shows how many times they’ve recounted and relived their injuries. We learn about the different amount of limb control that each man has, and about how they pick up chicks, drive cars, and do everything else that everyone else does. The movie starts to focus in on two main subjects - Mark Zupan (at left), a hardass and MVP for the US team, and Joe Soares, an older Murderball player who helped make the game famous, then had a falling out with the US team (and now is spitefully coaching the Canadian national team). As we learn more about these two tough characters - Zupan’s former life as a high school jock, and his relationship with the friend who caused his injury; and Soares’ intensity, grudge-holding, and relationship with his non-sporting son - the movie becomes way more than just a sports documentary.

Murderball has so many scenes that stuck with me, and lots of moments that made me tear up (but not in a cloying, hallmark kind of way). Probably the best movie I’ve seen this summer, and the best sports documentary I’ve ever seen. Check it out.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 11th, 2005 at 8:48 am and is filed under Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.