Murderball

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film

Quad Rugby: put a bunch of testosterone-ridden quadriplegics in custom wheelchairs, give them a ball, and let them get as violent as they can as they move the ball around a basketball court. When the sport got started in Canada, they called it Murderball. In many ways, it is wonderful therapy, but even more, it is great sport.

We get introduced to the sport in the new documentary, Murderball. But even more important we get introduced to the men who play the game that we discover is more than just an entertaining oddity.

The story follows the US Quad Rugby team beginning with the 2002 world championships in Sweden through the 2004 Paralympic competition in Athens. To give the film a bit of narrative flow, we discover that there is a rivalry developing between the US and Canadian teams. The US has dominated this sport for years. But a former (and disgruntled) US player has gone north to coach Team Canada. To the Americans, this is a betrayal.

Primarily, the film focuses on three personalities. Mark Zupan is one of the American players. Zupan was injured when thrown out of a truck in an accident. One of his long time friends said that Zupan was an asshole before the accident, so his attitude isn’t the result of being in a wheelchair. Zupan is like just about any jock you have ever met. Even as a quadriplegic, he has a swagger about him. He is focused and looking for gold.

Joe Soares is the former Team USA player now coaching Team Canada. His disability is the result of childhood polio. He participated in 13 consecutive US championships. Although his former teammates like to compare him to Benedict Arnold, for Soares, this is his next step in a sport that his been his love. We don’t see much of him as a player, but he does have the kind of motivational personality that makes good coaches. He too wants gold, but he also wants respect.

The third focus is Keith Cavill, who we meet four weeks after he was injured doing motocross. Cavill is just beginning the rehab and the adjustment that will allow him to function in the world. Cavill struggles with the simplest of tasks: going from lying down to sitting, undoing the Velcro on his shoes. At this point in his life, Cavill isn’t thinking of gold, just living – and hoping to walk.

The film could have been made about the US and Canadian teams and it would have been interesting – and might have made it to ESPN late at night. But by including Cavill in the film, the filmmakers managed to make a film that isn’t just a quirky sports film. It is a film not so much about the game as it is about its participants. Cavill shows us the base from which all of these athletes started. We discover that in spite of their injuries – which had them all at Cavill’s level – they are capable athletes. It was a long time before they got to the point they are now. In that way they are a sign of hope for those who may feel powerless in the struggles they face.

But the film is even more than this. The highlight of the film is how it manages to humanize these athletes for us. One of the players, when speaking about meeting girls, says that you’re never sure whether they see you or the chair. For the most part, at the beginning of the film, we see the chair. That is, we note how disabled they all are. We learn how they were injured. We learn about how hard it is to get around. We see a bit of their anger and frustration at their situations. We may even see the rugby as a way of channeling all that anger. We may marvel at what they can do, but we marvel because of how disabled they are.

Slowly, the filmmakers reveal to us the people who are sitting in the chairs. They have girlfriends, they have families, they have jobs, they have problems, and they have dreams. They have lives. They are as normal as anyone you know. They pull sophomoric practical jokes. They party. They have flaws. (Note: the film includes strong language and frank discussions of sex. As I said, these are normal men.)

By the time we watch them in Athens, we are no longer watching the chairs running up and down the court; we are watching our team. We do not see disabled athletes; we see athletes.

Like the game, the film Murderball is powerful experience.

—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film