Chariots of Fire - Review

RATING     : *****
PRODUCER : DODIALFAYED
DlRECTOR  : HUGH HUDSON

In an age, where things like match fixing and drugs are as much a part of sporting headlines as victories and defeats 'Chariots of Fire' comes as a breath of fresh air. You are transported back to a period when sportsmanship and not winning was of paramount importance, when games were played for the honour and glory of sport and not money and fame.
An Oscar winning movie it is about the British triumphs at the 1924 Olympics.

Eric Lid II (Ian Charleston) and Harold Abraham (Ben Cross) are the main protagonists. Lid II a good Christian with staunch principles and Abraham a talented runner but born with the stigma of being Jewish. The first believes the will of God is for him to run while the latter runs to prove his worth in a hostile world.

Both are hungry for success and have the fire in them to succeed but in attaining it they never loose sight of the larger picture.

The movie grips you from the first shot as you watch runners striding by the sea while the haunting musical score plays in the background. From that moment you are pulled into a vortex of emotions as you ride every high and low of the athletes, feeling anguish at their setbacks, triumph in their wins while admiring their sheer grit and determination.

The total absence of melodrama and the low key yet powerful performances give an integrity to the subject of the film. Admittedly, there is a little disappointment when there is no showdown between Lid II and Abraham(as you are inevitably rooting for one of them). So a low key climax is almost a letdown. But as I said; this is not your cliched sports film with photo finishes, victory of the underdog with his last minute antics. This is about young confident athletes whose victory is inevitable and deserved.

You don't have to be a sports afficionado to appreciate this film but just have to possess an understanding of human nature. For this movie on sports is a parallel on life. It is about motivation and character. And it serves to remind us of the one tiny fact we have forgotten as we clamber and trample over each other to cross the finish line. At the end of the day when that one great scorer comes to write against your name he asks not if you won or lost but how you played the game.