This continues to be a terrific year for inspirational sports sagas, and director Sydney Freeland’s heartfelt drama is another winner.
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| Coaches Heather and Benny (Jessica Matten and Ernest Tsosie III, far right) watch the game action, along with team members, from left, Ruckus (Damian Henry Castellane), Warlance (Jojo Jackson) and Levi (Jaren K. Robledo). |
No surprise, then: The tone, characters and Navajo culture are rigorously authentic (and just as captivating as the basketball action).
The present-day setting is the fictitious reservation community of Chuska, named for the mountain range that runs along the Arizona/New Mexico border. The story begins as longtime best friends Nataanii (Kusem Goodwind) and Jimmy (Kauchani Bratt) razz each other during some lively one-on-one. Their bond is palpable, but Nataanii’s bearing is withdrawn, somehow fragile.
He still grieves for his mother and sister, recently killed by a drunk driver.
Nataanii has returned to school, and everybody in town is thrilled that he’ll once again be the celebrated champion of the Warriors basketball team. Nobody is happier than Coach Heather Hobbs (Jessica Matten), who relies on him to rally everybody’s spirits. She understands that his leadership eases any awkwardness the boys might have, being coached by (ahem) a woman.
Alas, matters quickly take a tragic — but not unexpected — turn.
Lacking her star player, and with Jimmy and his teammates emotionally shattered, their first season game — against the Santa Fe Catholic Coyotes, their hated rivals — is an embarrassing disaster.
Heather hopes to groom Jimmy into the leadership role, but he has a lot on his emotional plate. Aside from having lost his best friend, his mother Gloria (Julia Jones) — a single parent — is a longtime alcoholic who relies on him for financial support; that means additional shifts at the burger joint where he works.
Gloria is sullen, often angry, and chronically depressed; Jones handles this role with grim authenticity. When Jimmy asks why she never attends the games, to watch him play, her reply is a gut-punch: “I don’t want to see you fail.”
Fully aware that her team is falling apart, and unable to heal the fracture on her own, Heather summons help from retired veteran Coach Benny Begay (Ernest Tsosie III). He immediately recognizes the sacred imperative of lending spiritual assistance, and understands that the boys first must heal.
The subsequent arc of Freeland and Harjo’s script may be familiar and predictable, but the journey — and its destination — are no less satisfying and exhilarating. Underdog sagas are powerful for a reason: We love come-from-behind stories.
Despite the dark emotional hurdles that these characters must surmount, Freeland also finds time for gentler moments, such as the slowly developing relationship between Jimmy and his co-worker, Krista (Zoey Reyes). Unexpected humor also emerges at times, none better than during the boys’ unusual “bonding exercise,” when they must work together to round up the sheep that have escaped the pen on Heather’s grandmother’s land.
Grandmother Velma (Sarah H. Natani) gets the film’s best one-liner, after the boys finally complete this seemingly impossible task.
Nataanii was a born leader, but Jimmy is not; that leads to tension with teammate Bryson (Devin Sampson-Craig), who’d like the top dog spot himself. This, too, is handled in a manner that feels just right.
Unfortunately, the rest of the players don’t get an opportunity to display distinct personalities, aside from their basketball prowess. They deserve mention: Warlance (Jojo Jackson), Miles (Avery Hale), Jimmy (Kauchani Bratt), Ruckus (Damian “LuvSmokeyy” Castellane), Tyson (River Rayne Thomas), Gunnar (Vincent Otero), Levi (Jaren K. Robledo), Kobe (Hunter Redhorse Arthur) and Leland (Henry Wilson Jr.).
Most are first-time actors; indeed, Freeland’s earlier films often featured non-actors. So while most of the Warriors may not stand out as distinct characters, they’re still wholly credible as high school kids with solid basketball chops.
As Freeland comments in this film’s production notes, “Nothing takes me out of a basketball movie quicker than someone who can’t play.” Hoop skills were just as important as budding acting talent, when she and casting director Angelique Midthunder filled each role.
All the court action in this film therefore is authentic, captured with pulse-quickening intensity by cinematographer Kira Kelly and editor Jessica Baclesse.
Cody Lightning and Dallas Goldtooth are a total hoot as game “color commentators” Micah and William, who trade silly quips in between the play-by-plays. Sam Griesel’s Mason is this story’s token villain: the aggressive and condescending Coyotes star player, who towers above all the other boys.
The setting and Diné (Navajo) culture are just as important as the basketball chops, and — as was the case with last year’s Frybread Face and Me — Freeland’s touch is quietly profound and reverential. Coach Benny’s solemn rituals feel magical, laden with the same marvelous blend of mysticism and real-world harmony.
This is a lovely, uplifting and rousing little drama ... and an exciting sports movie.
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