Chariots of Fire

Cable knit sweaters. Cardio. Church.

On this episode, we review film #100, the 1981 British historical sports drama "Chariots of Fire". 

Drink your water & mind your business, or send us an email at Viewingthebluesaway@gmail.com.

Transcript

Welcome to Viewing the Blues Away, where I watch the American Film Institute’s 100 most inspiring movies to see if they are really inspirational as they are supposed to be.

As one of the millions of Americans who suffer from depression and anxiety, I often turn to movies, TV shows, or a new book to help take the edge off. I find that my anxiety seems to ramp up for me just as the weather turns bright and sunny, yes I get summer blues. Indeed, I think Lana Del Rey's Summertime Sadness describes my life very accurately. When I first heard it I was so thankful she released a song about me that made me simultaneously want to cry and dance, so thoughtful.

In my search for some motivation, I stumbled on AFI’s 100 Years, 100 Cheers and decided to give these films a watch. Like any good Capricorn, I decided to make a formal project out of it because I can’t just watch movies for the sake of watching movies!

 “Every time I go to a movie it’s magic, no matter what the movie’s about.” -Steven Spielberg, a film that resonates in my cold, black heart.  I love going to the movies. I love a good story, especially if it’s one that makes me feel like I too can achieve otherwise unachievable goals, so I am stoked to get into this project and find some levity through these films. 

 I have to admit that when I read the title of movie 100 on the list, “Chariots of Fire”, it immediately conjured images of a chariot race, which I think is actually Ben Hur or Noah maybe and let me tell, that is not this movie. And that’s apparent from the opening scene of a bunch of men running on what looks like a cold beach.

But before I get too far, a few quick facts about this film.

Chariots of Fire was released in 1981, and it is a British Historical sports drama. It was directed by Hugh Hudson, who was originally a documentarian which makes sense now that I’ve seen the film, there's definitely echoes of documentary filmmaking here. Hudson tells the true story of athletes Scottish Eric Liddell  and English  Harold Abrahams who compete in the 1924 Olympic games. 

So, get on your running shoes and let's go. 

As the film opens, The song that is playing sounds a bit like this, and it’s become synonymous with scenes of great athletic feats. It is indeed called Chariots of Fire by Vangelis, which I did not know. Let me tell you what was immediately not inspiring about this film, the clumps of dirt on these pristine white uniforms. It made me so mad because all I could picture was some poor women who were trying to get these damn uniforms clean after their run.

Okay, moving on we see a bunch of what are supposed to be college aged men but they look like much older chaps. I’ll suspend my disbelief since we are all 6 minutes into this. Clearly one of these guys is supposed to be an athlete, he’s got golf clubs and a tennis racket. They’re starting to set the tone now as he checks into his dorm at the very prestigious University of Cambridge and gives his name, Harold Abrahams, our first main character, and immediately we get some nice antisemitism from the dorm butlers, I guess, I don’t know what to call them.

Not a lot of interest happens here, a fancy dinner in tux and tails followed by a scene of Abrahams competing in a foot race. My research after this suggests this race is actually a very serious thing, but the film doesn’t convey that. It is called the Trinity Court Run,  running around the college courtyard in the time it takes for the clock to strike 12. 

He is challenged by a guy who shows up with a bottle of champagne and a cigarette, and barely manages to beat the guy, but he is the first person ever to complete this. And Mr. champagne is actually Lord Andrew Lindsay, who will become important later, so this is really a means of introducing him. 

Next scene moves us a year later to Scotland and a scene of kids competing in foot races in the idyllic highlands. We are almost 30 minutes in at this point and honestly I’m not sure where we are going other than to presume it has something to do with running. That’s confirmed as they introduce our 2nd lead, Eric Liddell. There’s reference to him and his family returning home from China and that this is his first time in Scotland, despite having an accent that is decidedly Scottish. There is mention of him being a good enough runner to compete in the Olympics. He joins in the foot races and we get the first of many unnecessary slow motion shots.

The following scenes show us a montage of newspaper headlines and scenes of Liddell running his heart out for Scotland, beating Irish and other competitors throughout Great Britain. They really are positioning him as the man to beat, but as he competes in the next race they show he’s flapping his arms so wildly it’s almost comical.

Nonetheless, it’s clear that we are headed  to a showdown between Abrahams and Liddell. They cut back to our guy Abrahams, who is out at the opera and catches the eye of Sybil Gordon. They go out to eat and he’s in a bit over his head at this fancy dinner, so he follows her lead and they are served pork, which elicits a laugh between the two of them and reminds us that he is indeed Jewish, just in case we had forgotten, and that is not a good thing back in good ol’ 1920.

Now we are in 1923, and it’s our first chance to see these two gents go head to head. They line up to race and the Scotsman Liddell immediately smokes Abrahams. It’s a dash but Liddell decisively wins, which leads to complete meltdown for Abrahams.

Sybil tries to comfort Abrahms following the race, telling him “you were marvelous, but he was more marvelous” before he decides to throw in the towel completely.  After he complains she tells him “ if you can’t take a beating, you should quit,” which honestly feels like the most logical response here.

Abrahams retorts that he “doesn’t run to take a beating. I run to win. If I can’t win, I won’t run”.

Abrahams talks about how hard he has worked and wonders aloud what he will aim for because he “can’t run any faster”. It’s so overly dramatic as if he’s never lost a race or had to deal with training whatsoever. But this is just foreshadowing as in pops Mr. Masabini, who tells Abrahams he can help him find the two seconds he needs to win. 

This brings us to the classic training montage. We’re almost an hour in now folks but Abrahams is going through the paces, following his coach’s lead on a number of drills and even running in the most luxurious beautiful white cable knit sweater which is probably what I will remember most about this movie.

Which brings us to the real meat and potatoes of the movie, finally. It’s not simply a movie about two guys racing. It’s about religion,racism and class warfare. Abrahams is already bearing the weight of being jewish, which is he is constantly reminded, as well as being lower-class than his Cambridge classmates. and now he’s taking heat for having a coach and not truly being an amateur runner. A coach who happens to be Italian and “half-Arab”, his words not mine. The university is scrutinizing him for his choice of coach as well as for what they perceive as his aim of “individual glory”, rather than glory for the university. Which, what else would a sprinter be doing? It’s quite literally an individual sport.

Simultaneously, we see Liddell’s sister chastising him for his pursuit of the sport. His family are missionaries and she angrily dismisses his view that his talent is God-given by saying it takes him away from god and his work as a missionary. Liddell has chosen to remain behind while his father returns to China to resume their missionary work. Both men seemed damned if they do, damned if they don’t as they were elected to represent Great Britain in 1924 in Paris. Mr. Champagne, from the earlier footrace with Abrahams, is also joining them on this team. 

As they board the boat for France, Liddell becomes frustrated to learn his premier event, the 100 meters, qualifying race has been scheduled for Sunday. And as he has made clear throughout the film, Sunday is made for church and not any other activity. Ultimately he informs the British Olympic Committee he cannot possibly participate in a race on Sunday. TheY even use the Prince of Wales to pressure him into running the 100 meters. 

Much like Abrahams after Liddell defeated him, Liddell now carries on about all he’s given up to get here but that to run on the Sabbath is against God’s law.

But wait – it’s our guy from the foot race Lord Lindsay, who happily offers to switch races with Liddell as he has already won a silver medal. He valiantly offers to swap his upcoming 400 meter race on Thursday  with Lidell’s 100 meter so that he can still run. Which begs the question of why they simply couldn’t switch the days of these races? I know there’s a schedule and whatnot, but it seems like they had options here. This switch do to his religious preferences gains international attention 

Now we see Lindsay with Abrahams, sharing that he has switched races. Abrahams tells him he envies how content he is, saying “I’m 24 and I’ve never known contentment” and honestly what 24 is content? They are just starting out and have soooo much life ahead of them! During this scene coach Masabini is giving Abrahams a massage. He brought his coach there and got him an apartment that overlooks the venue because he isn’t allowed to actually to attend. And then Abrahams gets demolished in the 200 meters by the good old US of A, so that leaves only the 100 meters for him to possibly medal. 

At this point, I am beginning to question AFI and feel very misled about this film’s ability to inspire. It’s so sad and depressing, like these are the same issues that depress me now! It’s more than a hundred years later and we are still knee deep in antisemitism and the complete lack of respect for religious beliefs that are not exactly the same as our own, which is just trash guys.

But, I continued on to what is the most bizarre slow motion, cut scene set to what I can only describe as whale songs or whale sounds as Abraham runs his longshot race with poor Liddell looking on forlorn. And he wins, to no one’s surprise. And then we get to Liddell, who the American coach reminds his team has very little chance of winning. And then we see this heartwarming exchange where an American runner gives Liddell a little note of support in the form of a bible quote. And he does indeed win his race! 

There’s a full 20 minutes more of film after this but honestly I bailed out at this point because it was not doing it for me. This was about as inspiring as Gal Gadot rallying Hollywood to record we are the world during the pandemic. It means well, but boy it just does not hit the mark. There’s so many parts that could have been cut or edited to get us to the heart of things. And this film won best picture in 1981. Which is crazy when you consider the other contenders, On Golden Pond.

It's not even up there is my top 10 sports feel good movies, and it’s not because of the story. It’s a story worth being told, no doubt, but it deserved better treatment in my opinion. What did inspire me about this movie: fashion, like the gorgeous minty-green flapperesque number and various dresses, and headwear worn by the few women in this film. Side note this film fully fails the Bechdel test, which is an entire podcast on its own. Still, I found myself at times dreaming about what it must have been link to wear such glorious fashions, until I remember that I equally enjoy things like obtaining a credit card or buying a home without needing a male relative to vouch for me, which wouldn’t happen for another 50-ish years.

So this first film was not the pump up that I needed, but sitting down to create this episode did give me that dopamine hit I needed. 

 If you are listening and you’re having a rough time, remember you are not alone. If you need someone to talk to, as we all do,  a plethora of state, county, and other local resources you can tap into if you’re feeling down, struggling with mental illness or just need to vent. It’s been a weird couple of years and we are all just trying to figure out what’s next and how to exist, so there’s no shame in reaching out for support. I WORRY most about my folks out there living in rural areas. I too grew up in small town America and know that they are often lacking in resources, so I wanted to highlight Rural Minds, an international nonprofit whose mission is to serve as the informed mental health voice in rural america. Find Them at ruralminds.org and if you can donate a bit to this cause, it’s a great one. 

Or, you can drop me a line, you’re new favorite digital stranger at viewingthebluesaway@gmail.com . I’m getting ready for the next film on the list, Ray starring the multi-talented Jamie Foxx. 

Until next time, drink your water and mind your business!