Review: Documentary 'Runner' spins a fascinating yarn about South Sudan's first Olympian
Sometimes, the best thing a documentarian can do is find a heroic figure and not get in the way of that person’s story — and that’s what director Bill Gallagher does in the inspirational documentary “Runner.”
The movie tells the story of Guor Mading Maker, sometimes known as Guor Marial, who was born in the southern portion of Sudan, in a life of poverty and violence. At the time, in the 1980s and 1990s, Sudan was divided between its Arabic-influenced Muslim north and the African-leaning, predominantly Christian south. As a journalist interviewed in the film explains, the south also had oil under the ground, so it became a political and economic target of the dominant north.
Guor had to run for his life as a child, first from soldiers and later in the refugee camp, separated from his mother. Eight of his nine siblings died in Sudan, but Guor survived and was sent to live in the United States.
At his high school in Concord, N.H., Guor’s ability to run fast attracted the attention of the track coaches. Soon, Guor joined the cross-country team and won meets across New England, usually in the 10,000 meters. Bolstered by the track team moms and the coaching staff, Guor used his running talent to get a scholarship at Iowa State University.
In 2011, South Sudan achieved independence, and Guor had a new dream: To run the marathon at the 2012 Olympics in London, representing his new nation. The problem was that South Sudan didn’t have a local Olympic committee, and the International Olympic Committee gave Guor two options: Don’t compete, or run under the flag of his former oppressors, Sudan.
Gallagher details Guor’s journey from refugee camp to America, and captures the battle and the media circus when the athlete worked to go to London.
Thankfully, Gallagher doesn’t stop there, with what could have been a traditional happy ending to the story. Like a marathoner, Gallagher keeps going to the next fight: Establishing South Sudan’s Olympic team and preparing for the 2016 games in Rio.
Gallagher pulls out some effective techniques, such as animation to depict Guor’s war-ravaged childhood or creating a fascinating montage of the news coverage Guor got in the run-up to London. But the best thing about “Runner” is Guor himself, a humble and sympathetic character whose life has more twists than the average thriller.
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‘Runner’
★★★
Available Friday, July 17, through the Salt Lake Film Society’s virtual cinema, SLFS@Home. Not rated, but probably PG for thematic elements. Running time: 88 minutes.