This is top-notch filmmaking in terms of its technique and its humane spirit.
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The Crash Reel
Overview
An escalating rivalry between snowboarder Kevin Pearce and his nemesis Shaun White in the run-up to the 2010 Olympics leaves Shaun on top of the Olympic podium and Kevin in a coma following a training accident in Park City, Utah. Kevin's tight-knit Vermont family flies to his side and helps him rebuild his life as a brain injury survivor. But when he insists he wants to return to the sport he still loves, his family intervenes. Will Kevin defy them and insist on pursuing his passion? How much risk is too much?
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Few documentaries manage to show character arcs as full as the one Walker captures here.
The hook of The Crash Reel is that it's about the rivalry between two famous American snowboarders, but in reality, Lucy Walker's slickly produced documentary is about one man's ongoing battle with himself -- on and off the slopes.
Ms. Walker doesn't go too deeply into the questions all this raises, but at least she broaches them. Are the sponsors of these athletes promoting recklessness by encouraging stars to push the limits?
Much more than a sports film, Lucy Walker's Oscar-shortlisted The Crash Reel is a thrilling, inspiring, yet cautionary tale about extreme sports that never trades on sentiment.
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