Starring: Aaron Jakubenko, Kevin Sorbo, Grant Piro, Mark Mitchell, Denise Roberts, Marina Prior
Distributor: Momo Films
Runtime: 105 mins. Reviewed in Oct 2016
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It should be noted immediately that this is a ‘Faith Film’. Audiences who appreciate Faith Films will find it much to their liking. Those who are wary of Faith Films will probably remain wary.
The story of the film is based on actual events, focusing on the Australian basketball team for the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956.
The film opens in Idaho in the early 1950s, portrayed almost as ideal America in the calmness and prosperity of the Eisenhower era. DeLyle Condie (Aaron Jakubenko) is what one might call a regular fellow, conscientious, a student, a basketball player, devout, comfortable in using faith and prayer language with his parents. He is to be engaged, goes off to Salt Lake City for studies and is disappointed when his fiancee breaks off the engagement and does not give him a reason.
The Church of Latter Day Saints has not been mentioned explicitly up to this point but audiences may have intuitions that this is the faith base for the family. DeLyle opts to go to Australia for two years of missionary work. Since the writer-director was born in Dandenong in Melbourne, it seems fair game that he can present the Australians of the 1950s as rather down-to-earth, slamming doors on the visitors, their being pelted with tomatoes by kids, and the screenplay having the missionaries repelled by Vegemite.
On arrival, the missionaries find that their regime is fairly strict, that in some sense they are a closed community except when they try their door-knocking outreach. On arrival, Condie is invited to participate in a basketball match, much to the ire of the President and his wife (Mark Mitchell and Denise Roberts). There is quite some discussion, familiar to religious communities about contact with the world and yet this contact being a possibility for evangelisation.
After some interventions, especially by Condie’s father with the elders in Salt Lake City, permission is given for the Mormon Elders to form a team and, at the invitation of Ken Watson (Grant Piro in a very persuasive performance), considered the father of Australian basketball, they begin to coach the rather hopeless Australian team.
It is here that the film picks up a great deal of excitement for most audiences, even for non-faith audiences, as the team show their skills, play a team of prisoners at Bendigo prison, and are challenged by the French Olympic team whose coach is certainly a very bad and angry sport. The climax of the film is a rematch against the French who play with no holds barred against the earnest Mormon Yankees. Whatever the hostility initially towards the Mormons, religion-wise, the crowd (and the cinema audience) are enthusiastically and vocally supportive of the American team.
This is the kind of film that is called inspirational and could contribute a lot to a changing image of Mormons and their beliefs, their mission. The director does have a missionary background, some time in PNG as well as in the Solomon Islands and has made a number of religious features and documentaries.
But, even with reservations, it is not hard to be caught up in the spirit of the game.
12 Random Films…
