Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Really Surprised!

Perfect cast and a good story

Fresh and Exciting

Set in 1999, post-APartheid South African, this film begins with an elderly white brickworks manager who has a strong interest in long-distance running.He has been training some of his employees for a ultra-long-distance race, the Comrades Marathon. Deprived of this, he finds himself at a loose end.He then notices Christine, a young Blakc African woman who regularly runs long distances and has never had any training. She is an illegal immigrant, who faced hostility from some of the local Black Africans. When she is arrested, he gets her released and invites her to live with him. He has no sexual interest in her - she later describes it as being viewed like a racehorse.Christing several times asserts herself. The film culminates in her taking part in the actual race.I found that there was rather too much about the dull relationship between coach and runner. A better film would have shown flashbacks to the past of the race, not always open to blacks or women, and to the coach's own past as a runner. Still, it gave an authentic-seeming view of South Africa and the running culture.

This independent production was picked up by Universal Pictures, but it doesn't seem that they gave it much of a theatrical release apart from a brief showing in Seattle. Seeing the movie, it soon becomes clear why Universal didn't have confidence in it. It's not a terrible movie, having some positive attributes. The South African locations, which are well photographed, give this a non-Hollywood look that's quite refreshing. The acting by everyone is pretty good as well. However, the actors aren't able to do anything with a script that doesn't give much depth to the characters. The main characters of Berry and Christine never have one real conversation of significant depth. Quite often they do things without explanation. There are a few scenes where it seems something personal might come out, but then there's an abrupt edit to the next scene, suggesting that a lot was cut out in the editing room. (Despite this, the movie at 113 minutes still feels too long.) And the climatic race is directed in a surprisingly bland fashion, not letting us feel the sweat and pain the runners are going through. Still, as I said earlier, this is not a terrible movie... but you'll still feel underwhelmed by it long before the end credits start rolling.

Well, I only caught the tail end of this film on HBO, just the final 10 minutes or so, but I must say that it contains probably the most laughable depiction of distance running EVER put on film! I'm a serious distance runner and a dedicated fan of the sport, and I've sat through many painful demonstrations in movies before. However, nothing could have ever prepared me for what is shown on screen in the final 10 minutes of this movie, it literally defies belief! The depiction of the runners is even more ironic considering that African runners completely dominate the sport, and they are elegant and graceful. The female protagonist shuffles along like an overweight pregnant woman, and her "highly trained" male supporters are no better. Well into the race this alleged world class runner is surrounded by pudgy, overweight people, many of whom are WALKING! I find it interesting that the director decided to have her lead the female competition, yet near the end she is shown passing people who look like they're staggering along on two broken legs! Are we to believe that this amazing stellar athlete has only overtaken a crippled person at the very end of the race? Maybe the director just thinks that female runners can't run faster than 12 minute miles, and he has obviously never heard of athletes like Paula Radcliffe or Tirunesh Dibaba.Even if you aren't a running fan you'll be astonished by the insanely inaccurate portrayal of running, and this movie is only watchable as unintentional comedy. Here is a note to the director: The next time you decide to make a movie about a sport, it might be worth it to hire at least one person who actually has observed that sport in action.

Armin Mueller Stahl plays a running coach in South Africa to perfection. He tried running the famous 90 Km "Comrade Marathon" when he was younger but never completed it. Now he is trying his best to achieve that missed goal by training a young African woman to succeed where he has failed. This story is not just about running, but about exceeding limits that you set for yourself and doing things that you did not think were possible. It also gives you a picture of whites and blacks in South Africa today. This is an uplifting movie which can be watched by the entire family.