Established in Canada in 1976, wheelchair rugby is a full-contact sport that has been a paralympic staple for decades. Played by mixed-gendered teams of twelve, eight players with limited function in their limbs speed up and down a basketball court in armored wheelchairs with the intent of carrying a ball across a goal line. It has the same amount of speed and force as any full-contact sport, especially those similarly on wheels like roller derby.A main principle of the game is slamming your chair into your opponents like bumper cars, including knocking them over.Falling is part of the game, as are the injuries that come with it. It is an entertaining sport to watch, a fast-paced, intense, scrappy competition with explosions of action. Due to its high velocity and violence, before it was officially sanctioned, the game was called murderball.
Released in 2005,Murderball, directed byHenry-Alex RubinandDana Adam Shapiro, follows the United States wheelchair rugby team and their heated rivalry with team Canada, leading up to their face-off at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens.Murderballonly had a budget of $350,000, which allows it to have a very DIY, punk-rock feeling that gives the film an added level of authenticity. The crew follows the team not just at games and training but gives us a look into their day-to-day lives, and their rehabilitation from their paralyzing injuries, with every member having movie-worthy stories on their own.Roger Ebert said in his review of the filmthat life provides a better ending than the filmmakers could’ve hoped for. The same could be said for everything those cameras captured, which is how this documentary won a Sundance Film Festival audience award and got nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 78th Academy Awards.
‘Murderball Is a Documentary With a Classic Sports Movie Storyline
The setup of the film is already high drama. The film opens at the international wheelchair rugby tournament in Sweden. The audience learns thatJoe Soares, a star player for the US team, has defected and become a coach for Team Canada after being cut several years before. The finals are between the United States and Canada, who beat them by one point. Their next big face-off is the 2004 Paralympics, the biggest competition in the world.The rivalry between Canada and the US, or more specifically Soares and Team United States, is what drives the main story.The competition between the two countries ebbs and flows into the greatest stage of them all. First Canada has a close win, then the US has one, so they’re neck-and-neck at the Paralympics. Canada ends up winning, but neither team gets the gold, with it going to New Zealand that year. Despite it being the A-plot, it’s not the real story we’re watching unfold.
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In between the wins and losses, you have the stories of the players and coaches.Soares is the clear antagonist of the team we focus on the most, but he’s not the clear villain despite the perceived betrayal of his defection. He’s someone with very rigid principles and a family of his own, who wants to remain active in a sport that he’s passionate about. Another key character isMark Zupan,still a legend in the sport, a kind of grumpy guy with a heart of gold. He lost his ability to walk in an accident caused by his best friend, and you get insight into what happens to a relationship like that. There’s also a new player, Keith, who recently became paralyzed in a motorbike accident, and finds a new sense of motivation and purpose in the sport. You get to see the camaraderie and rivalry within and between the teams, and how things wrap up satisfyingly in Athens.While no one ended up winning gold, they were all winners in their own lives.
‘Murderball’ Shatters Preconceived Notions of Disability
Many in the disabled and neurodivergent community navigate the world with the assumption of fragility. Being pitied or infantilized is as common as it is frustrating.That’s why the idea of “inspiration porn"is as pervasive as it is today, a phrase coined by the late, greatStella Youngto describe the patronizing objectification of disabled people for the comfort of non-disabled people.There once was a time when a disabled person living a normal, independent life was worthy of a “What’s Your Excuse?” motivational poster.The athletes inMurderballaren’t inspirational because they’re just living their lives, they’re inspirational because many of them endured the worst trauma of their lives, whether debilitating illness or injury, and came out of it as world champions.
Many of the athletes aren’t pristine or innocent cherubs. We watch them drinking, swearing, playing cards, hooking up at parties. They tell stories of losing their mobility in fights and drunk-driving accidents, they have baggage and battle scars, all while doing the roughest sport at the Paralympics.Most importantly, they don’t want some pat on the back for giving it a go, they want to win. They want to be the best wheelchair rugby team in the world and will get into bitter rivalries because of it.
The drive of each athlete we see on the journey to Athens is what makes this documentary more epic than any the Olympics has officially released. While a film likeTokyo Olympiadhas the incredible artistry and polish that the International Olympic Committee can provide,Murderballshows that all you need for a great documentary is that perfect central focus, and the story will follow organically.
Murderball
Quadriplegics, who play full-contact rugby in wheelchairs, overcome unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.
