Endurance - Haile Gebrselassie (1999)

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

I'm a big admirer of Gebrselassie of course, but somehow this movie had escaped my attention until today. And that's a pity because this is one of those rare movies that dares to be different and gets away with it. The gentle pace of this movie, and its sparse use of dialogue, music or effects is in stark contrast to the normal Hollywood fare, and dedicated lovers of action flicks will quite possibly give up on this film within a few minutes. Personally, I found the lack of car chases, gun fights or international intrigue thoroughly refreshing, and the political battles prevalent in other sports movies are totally absent. Instead we have a refined work of art that attempts (successfully, I believe) to reflect Gebrselassie's gentle nature and humble background while still capturing the long, disciplined workload and determination that allowed the man to overcome his hardships without tarnishing his grace or dignity.

The use of Gebrselassie himself and members of his family throughout the film is both touching and effective, while Yonas Zergaw is quite brilliant as the young Haile. Bekele Gebrselassie in particular gives a sterling performance as the poor widower farmer attempting to feed his ten children and watching with frustration as the young Haile chases his running dream instead of working on the farm or at least studying for a better life.

Writer and producer Bud Greenspan has a long history of sports-related movies and documentaries. With "Endurance" he has captured the unique brilliance of the man by highlighting his powerful yet simple qualities of grace and peace coupled with a grim determination to do very, very well. Gebrselassie's motivation is not "win at all costs", but one of doing the very best with what you have, and this movie portrays that by also doing that itself. Simple, but powerful.

Director Leslie Woodhead's films are more typically about the cold war and defence in the nuclear age, yet he has captured Gebrselassie beautifully. His long tracking shots of Haile running through the bush with no sound but his feet hitting the ground and his breathing show his true speed and form which you just can't get from more typical race footage and which are frankly astounding to watch despite their utter simplicity. The fact that it's Gebrselassie himself and not an actor makes it doubly interesting and of course as authentic as you can get.

This is a rare insight into one of our greatest athletes. Perhaps more documentary than movie, it none-the-less uses the re-enactment of his childhood to great effect, blending it expertly with Gebreselassie's own portrayal of his later life as well as actual footage from the 1996 Montreal Olympics.

I recommend watching this movie and then searching YouTube for some his many race highlights - the insight the film gives you puts his races into a new perspective. That he came out of retirement (or at least changed his mind about retirement) to focus on next year's Olympic marathon is wonderful news, and I recommend you watch (or re-watch) this movie sometime prior to then.

Four stars.