Long Run (Comrades marathon同志馬拉松／戰友馬拉松)

演員
亞明穆勒史塔
分級
普遍級
類別
劇情
出版
得利影視股份有限公司
日期
2002/9/24
片長
111 minutes

《邁向巔峰　劇情簡介》- 馬拉松長跑教練貝瑞,由於多年前自己無法在比賽中獲得勝利,因此貝瑞把所有的希望寄託在一位極具天賦的女選手-克莉絲汀身上,克莉絲汀對貝瑞這種除了比賽以外沒有其他目標的生活感到厭倦,數度想要脫離貝瑞的精神壓力,幾經波折之後,克莉絲汀最後參加了同僚馬拉松大賽,以黑馬的姿態打敗前任冠軍,奪得第一個馬拉松黑人女金牌.....

The Long Run (2000)
Starring: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Nthati Moshesh Director: Jean Stewart Rating (8 customer reviews)

One of the comment in amazon:

The province of the soul, February 18, 2004
Reviewer:

Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews In 1942, thousands of POWs were marched along the Philippines' Bataan Peninsula in the infamous "Death March". Thirst, hunger and fatigue plagued them in scorching heat. As guards watched impassively, the weaker fell by the wayside. Today, similar numbers follow the similar tracks with similar results. Only now we call it exercise. Instead of being instigated by imperial armies, supermarkets and auto rentals now act as sponsors. Instead of guards, the trekkers are goaded on by cheering spectators, only slightly less indifferent to the plight of the fallen.

The background to one of these dramas of endeavour and endurance is ably portrayed in The Long Run. In this film, the locale is South Africa, not the Philippines. Instead of steaming jungle, it's city roads and pollution. The quest, however, isn't just survival, it's winning. With exercise, winning means training, and training means coaching. Armin Mueller-Stahl plays Berry Bohmer, a brickyard employee coaching a team of runners. Encountering a young woman jogging, he sees immense promise in her. After some initial difficulties, Christine [Nthati Moshesh] accepts him as her trainer. The goal is winning the Comrades Marathon, a gruelling 90 km run across Natal Province, South Africa.

It's not a straightforward enterprise. Christine, a homeless illegal immigrant, moves in with Berry, scandalising the neighbourhood. It's hard to decide which of them is more prim in the relationship. His own situation becomes precarious when the brickyard owner wants to advance the cause of Black African management. Christine, although a natural runner, has no disciplined experience. Berry must start her at the beginning. Director Jean Stewart balances these disparate forces with finesse. From the opening scene, the tension of this race is vividly obvious. "Forget about the pain!", Berry tells his team, but you are confronted with the stress involved in this enterprise throughout the film. Whatever Moshesh's running experience in real life, she admirably demonstrates her abilities as she paces out bush roads and dodges coppers. Stewart places every scene in proper context, from distant views along rural tracks to the race's conclusion in Durban. Long distance shots of the Natal countryside impart a strong sense of the universality of distance running.

Finally, after no few tribulations, the race is run. The key point is Cowie's, a hill rising beyond a deceptive flat track. "It has killed thousands!", says Berry. Christine, determined, has her own approach. The race opens before sunrise, but "it'll get hot later today" intones the announcer. As the day begins, after the race starts, Stewart captures the easy mood of those first minutes. As time passes and the pace picks up, the full scope of the challenge is manifested. Runners are seen beside the track, crumpled with exhaustion. Christine's own support team members falter. There's nothing foregone about the conclusion - remember Cool Running? [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]Was this review helpful to you?