OLD-SCHOOL WHEELING- MOVIE REVIEW

The next article of Wheeling Around Phoenixville was originally printed in The Phoenix newspaper on July 29, 2005. Check it out...


Documentry about Disabled Sport Entertains and Inspires.


"Murderball"  is a recently released film that won honors at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Despite its gloomy title, "Murderball" is actually an exciting, entertaining and inspiring movie, :Hell on wheels" as one promotion goes.

The story follows Team USA through several seasons of wheelchair rugby, a smashing, crashing sport like a combination of football and demolition derby. The basic rules of rugby apply, cross the other team's goal line with the ball, only this sport is played in specially-designed, gladiator-like reinforced wheelchairs, which can sustain all the hammering and crashes. The athletes are strapped into their chairs. There are a lot of flying wheels, chairs tipping over and collisions going on. Yet knocking over a chair is not a foul, and is considered a tactic of the game, and no one has ever been seriously hurt in a game of wheelchair rugby.

The film works on several levels. First, it's a sports film, with a lot of action, passion and harrowing wheelchair duels. But most of all, "Murderball" tells the story of men outside the court, human beings seeking a purpose in life.

It is about guys who encourage questions about disability issues, who want to spread awareness, who yearn for acceptance away from their world of wheelchair rugby. On the court, players are on a level playing ground. Away from rugby, the real world is ever-present, with its share of prejudice and discrimination. Team USA does its best to try and ease these barriers, and not just on the court.

We see life through the eyes of a team of men, sharing their hopes, fears and dreams. We can imagine how these guys had to pick up their suddenly shattered lives, waking up in hospitals, being told they would never walk again. We experience the guilt, the grief and ultimately, the triumph of overcoming adversity.

We especially follow the world of Mark Zupan, probably the best wheelchair rugby player in the world. Mark was only 18 years old when he fell asleep in the bed of his friend Christopher's pick-up. The truck crushed and Mark was thrown into a canal, not found for 13 hours. He suffered a broken neck and instantly became a quadriplegic, unable to use any of his limbs.

Other than the grueling rehabilitation to regain control over his body, it took years for Mark to overcome his anger. Christopher ( who was unhurt in the accident) to overcome his guilt and for the two to become friends again.

We also follow the story of Joe, a polio survivor as a child, who came from a  working-class family. Joe wa son Team US A until he was cut in 2000 due to age. Bitter, Joe became coach of the rival Canandian team, which hadn't beaten the Americans in 12 years- until Joe became coach. it starts a heated rivalry, one which is chronicled over several years and ultimately, to the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, Greece.

We are also introduced to a young man who has been injured in Iraq and is now painfully undergoing the slow process of rehabilitation. We see him on the verge of giving up, a place where many of these guys have been, and Team USA trying to encourage him never to give up.

We learn about the interesting paradox in the sport of wheelchair rugby. There is a disability level rated on a scale from 0.5 to 3.5. Teams can have a total of 8 points on the court at once. It's interesting how these athletes have spent their lives overcoming and diminishing their disabilities and then hope for a higher handicap on the court.

it is also interesting that instead of escaping into alcoholism or drugs, these athletes escaped into sports. Instead of venting their frustrations on the world around them, they hammer on each other.

There is also a side story of Joe and his son. Joe wants his son to be an athlete. His son wants to play music, and there is a power struggle going on during the film, until,almost miraculously caught on camera, a sudden event changes both of their lives and attitudes.

One of my favorite scenes was during a school visit. An 8 year old biy displays the honesty and innocence of children when he asks a player named Bob, "How do you eat pizza?" Bob has no arms or legs. Bob proceeds to show him how, the same way Bob drives a car and dresses himself, all without limbs. Bob merely states, "no arms, no legs, no problem."

The players talk frankly about their lives and disabilities in an honest, refreshing manner. For instance, many people think that quads have no control over their limbs, but most retain some degree of movement. The guys also talk about sex and disability. They describe how they hate to be stared at, yet each movement is closely followed on the rugby court. It is information like this which enlightens throughout the movie.

As Mark says, "I'm a guy in a chair. I'm just like you, except I'm sitting down."

When the movie won Best Documentary at Sundance, Mark was there. He commented that the accident that left him with a disability was probably the best thing that ever happened to him. Hard to believe, but after seeing this movie, you do believe him. His disability made him take a hard look at himself and the world around him.

That is really the theme to "Murderball". We all have disabilities, sometimes of the spirit rather than the body. When you consider the bleak months and sleepless nights when these men first confronted the reality of their injuries, and now to see them in full force of athletic exuberance, one learns something valuable about the human will. I won't give away the ending, only to say that because the film is a documentary and all characters are real, it has an even more incredible and amazing climax, one which no screenwriter could better.

The reactions in the crowd were pretty interesting. Some people, mostly the younger people, cheered during the games, especially during the crashing scenes. Some people cried. Others seemed to feel uncomfortable, hearing and seeing certain aspects of the film.

Uneasy is good. It means awareness, enlightenment and understanding are occurring, the main objectives of this movie. Mark and the rest of Team USA would be happy.

As a person with a disability, I could relate to many scenes, especially when the players talked about wanted to be seen as people, not objects. I can relate to the long hours of depression and rehabilitation. I can relate to everyday life, as being "just like everyone else, only sitting down." I can't relate to the wheelchair rugby, as I would probably get killed the first time I played the sport.

But I look at mark and the others as heroes for having the courage and guts to even try. And I admire everyone who put this film together for bringing the topic of disability to the silver screen in such an honest and forthright manner. No cliches here. Just pure honesty and emotion.