Race

Dir: Stephen Hopkins

2016

****

Stephen Hopkins's rather straight-forward sports drama Race is as much about the Berlin Olympics as it is a biopic of the famed athlete Jesse Owens. The story unfolds through Owen's story but the US's involvement in the Berlin Olympics and the 'politics in sport' issue is rightly and correctly addressed through his eyes. It's refreshingly schmaltz-free, although it doesn't always stick to the facts. However, the message gets through. An example of this is the scene in which Hitler famously leaves the stadium early to avoid shaking Owen's hand after he won the gold. It's a myth, it never really happened. The truth is that Hitler didn't shake any of the winner’s hands but it was for the same reasons. He said at the time to Baldur von Schirach (the Nazi party's Youth Leader) "Do you really think that I'd allow myself to be photographed shaking hands with a Negro?" but in the film this line is delivered by Joseph Goebbels (played with vigour by Barnaby Metschurat). The message gets through and the film did well not to have Hitler as a central character but as a sinister presence instead. On the same hand though, the film is full of interesting facts about Owens and the games that I did not know and I found myself doing a lot of further reading after watching the film. A film can never give all of the facts as they happened, it is impossible. A good historical film will give you the important basics without sugar-coating or misleading and will inspire the viewer to research the subject further while also leaving them with an understanding of what it was all about, who was involved and why it was important. Race does that exceptionally well. I thought the scenes regarding whether the US should boycott the games was very well handled and suitably diplomatic, never once declaring which decision was right or wrong. Even after the outcome, it's still hard to say whether it was the right choice. The race issue was also brilliantly handled, indeed, the title is rather clever in this respect. It is shocking and utterly appalling that years after Owen's win, he still wasn't allowed in the front entrance of one of New York's most popular hotels for a dinner that was put on in his honour. In this respect it showed Owen's wonderful grace in the face of such ridiculous and ugly attitudes and should be congratulated. There is so much more to the story, I want to know more about Avery Brundage and Jeremiah Mahoney, I want to know more about what happened to Carl "Luz" Long after the games, what Eulace Peacock really thought and what he did in later life and why there hasn't been a film about the life and work of Leni Riefenstahl is staggering. It's an above average film with differing quality of performance but has certainly given me thirst for more knowledge on the various subjects covered which is a rare positive these days.