Tag Archives: Edge of America

Gallant efforts

Last night brought a “gallant effort” double feature to the Shire on the Hudson. I can’t really explain why, but my mood turned in that direction.

The evening began on the Edge of America. Directed by Chris Eyre, the story is loosely based on a true story about a black English teacher who comes to the Three Nations Reservation and ends up coaching the girl’s basketball team. The team has lost consistently. Racism, daughter-father relations, grief, cross-cultural confusion and conflict, and questions of self-esteem are among the issues that the film explores. Among the memorable scenes, a conversation between coach Kenny Williams, played by James McDaniel, and assistant coach Annie Shorty, played by Irene Bedard, stands out:

Annie: Those girls do everything you ask them to do. They practice hard, they get good grades, they win.
Kenny: Then you tell me why I’m pissed off.
Annie:  Because you’re a black man in America.
Kenny:  That’s right, I’m good and pissed off.
Annie: Well then get over it! You’re talking to Indian people here! Get over it, get on with it, or get the hell out!

Williams gets on with it. The young women play their way to the state finals. There they lose to the state powerhouse when a last-second shot bounces off the rim. Coach Williams blames himself and asks for forgiveness for failing the team and leading to the loss. As they return to a rousing welcome from the community, the players point out that they have nothing to forgive as the community and the players realize they have won in every sense of the word.

Mystery, Alaska closed the evening. A small town, Mystery loves its hockey. The sport unites the town. Each week brings “Saturday Game”, four-on-four pond hockey played on the open ice of the town’s frozen lake. Charles Danner, played by Hank Azaria, has left Mystery and become a sports writer. His story on the town and its hockey appears in Sports Illustrated. It leads to a game against the New York Rangers. Subplots weave together as the plot moves toward the climactic game – the pride of the town, father-son relations, infidelity, youth and age, a superstore moving to town, a trial of Mystery’s leading scorer. the unwillingness of the Rangers to play during their break, and more. The day of the game arrives. Little Richard, who notes that “It’s cold,” sings both the Star-Spangled Banner and O Canada to prolong the exposure of the Rangers to the frigid Alaskan air. In the first period, the Mystery team, coached by Burt Reynolds and captained by Russell Crowe, jumps out to a lead. The Rangers roar back in the second period to go ahead. Mystery closes the gap in the third period only to fall short when the game-tying shot bounces off the goalposts and into the goalie’s glove. The town, the Rangers, and eventually even the Mystery players recognize and celebrate the effort. Son Eric, friend Sparky and I noticed that several cast members appear with Crowe in 2010’s Robin Hood.

Two enjoyable films, two powerful tales of giving our all, two parables on the meaning of winning, made for a good evening.

See you along the Trail.

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What endings do you carry?

Edge of America was the first film of the night. Directed by Chris Eyre, this story of a black man coaching the women’s basketball team at the Three Nations Reservation High School is one of my favorites. It deals with racism, cultural difference, sexism, and more. There are many wonderful scenes.  But seeing it again tonight, reminded me of how powerfully it ends.

The team makes the state finals for the first time in history. For some of the players, this marks their first trip off the reservation. They play the dominant (check out the film to see all the dimensions of that word that are at work) team in the state. The game goes to overtime but the Three Nations team loses. The beginning of the film’s ending takes place on the bus as they make the journey back to the reservation. The coach in particular mourns the loss – taking the blame on himself.

But he and the team receive a joyous, affirming welcome from the entire Three Nations Reservation community: a celebration of effort and heart and all that binds a team and a community together.

Film endings leave much to ponder. Some leave me wondering. Some do little more than set up a sequel. And some do that in a very clumsy way. Some fail to provide enough of a resolution. Some come as an anticlimax – the film ended some moments before, but the makers did not stop. But some …

Some endings touch me and stay with me in ways and for reasons I can articulate and reasons I don’t understand. Consider:

Butch and Sundance defiantly running into a hail of Bolivian bullets. (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)

Shane riding away. (Shane)

Ethan Edwards stepping to the door and then turning away from the joyous reunion. (The Searchers)

Olive Hoover’s family joining her dance at the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. (Little Miss Sunshine)

Each ending unique in its own way. Each memorable.

What endings do you carry with you?

See you along the trail.

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