My writer-pal Barb Adamski emailed the other day about a fabulous movie she’d just seen called The Distance of Truth. “Why not write a review for Film Gecko?” I asked. And she graciously agreed to do just that.
Little did I know that Barb actually wrote an article about the subject of this film — the 2005 Badwater Ultramarathon, “The White Line Through Hell” — which appeared in the October 2005 issue of The Walrus.
And wow, do I feel like a slug after reading about this movie. Read on, and you’ll see why!
Barb writes:
It’s not often that I get invited to a movie premiere (heck, I live in New Westminster, British Columbia, a town without a big screen!), but I’m sure glad I got a chance to attend the inaugural showing of The Distance of Truth. I’d been waiting almost three years for its release.
Read more…
The film is based upon the 2005 Badwater Ultramarathon, a grueling 135-mile race that takes runners and their crews through Death Valley and across a couple of mountain ranges, ending with an ascent to Mount Whitney Portal, near Lone Pine, California. The documentary features Ferg Hawke, an average guy with a not-so-average passion. But the movie itself transcends Ferg’s race and strives to find the answer to the question that all reporters ask Badwater contenders: Why?
I was there for Ferg’s 2005 run, and followed his every move as diligently as the film crew did. And I have to admit, they did a phenomenal job of putting the race into context, of finding and expressing the physical and mental struggles of the competitors, of capturing the essence—and the drama— of the race itself.
A highlight of the film was the introductory home-video footage from 1991, which sets the stage of what’s to come, even though it might not seem like it at first.
Also fascinating was the interview with Geoffrey Hilton-Barbour, a blind competitor from South Africa, who ruminated on the whys and wherefores of running an ultramarathon.
While I wasn’t too fond of the movie’s main narration, Steve King’s commentary on the 2005 race sequence was brilliant, providing viewers with both a play-by-play of the action and relevant background information.
The Distance of Truth is not just for ultramarathoners, for it’s not about running. The Distance of Truth is about the strength of the human spirit, the power of motivation, and the beauty of one of the harshest environments in the world. It’s a must-see for everyone.
Check out the trailer here. Also, according to the Web site, the film should be available on DVD soon.
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