ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

WHEN THE GAME of quadriplegic rugby was first devised it was called Murderball. It’s all too easy to see why.

The specially adapted wheelchairs look like something out of ‘Mad Max’. The players hurl themselves across a court, smashing into their opponent and doing everything they can to inflict maximum damage. It is more like a clash of gladiators than a sport, and yet it is now played around the world.

The extraordinary documentary ‘Murderball’ focuses on the intense rivalry between Team America and Team Canada in the run up to the Paralympics in Athens in 2004.

There is a history between the teams. When former American star player Joe Soares was deemed surplus to requirements he promptly turned around and signed up to coach the Canadians. His behaviour was considered an act of treachery and everyone now has a point to make.

It isn’t a matter of life and death, it’s way more important than that. The concentration on the game still leaves time to explore the personalities and life histories of the men who play.

The one thing that becomes obvious is the way in which they remain as competitive as when they were able-bodied. If anything, their hunger to win is even more all-consuming, which leads to a reckless disregard for personal safety.

‘Murderball’ is a typical sports documentary about winners, losers and the price of victory, but it also challenges our polite preconceptions and patronising prejudices about the disabled. It offers an emotional, inspirational human interest story that once again proves how real life can be much more compelling than Hollywood fiction.

General release, selected cinemas
Directors: Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro
Stars: Mark Zupan, Joe Soares, Keith Cavill, Andy Cohn, Scott Hogsett, Bob Lugano
Certificate: 15
Running time: 85 mins
Country: USA
Year: 2005

© Allan Hunter, 2005