I first became aware of the true stories of Olympic runners Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams while in High School. This was when I first saw the 1981 sports drama "Chariots of Fire," famous for its iconic running theme.
I returned to this story of class, drive, and ambition years later when I began developing my skills as a writer and movie viewer (or, examiner, as I prefer) more seriously; ditto my own journey of faith. At least three things about this surprise-Best-Picture-Oscar-winner strike me: its emphasis on its central character arcs (while using sports as a mere backdrop and payoff), its human empathy, and its deep relevance for people of faith.
Hollywood has had a history of mainstream or secular actors playing real-life religious or faith-based characters, from Anthony Hopkins as C.S. Lewis (1993's Shadowlands) to Andrew Garfield as Desmond Doss (2016's Hacksaw Ridge) and, more recently, Jonathan Pryce as Pope Francis (last year's The Two Popes). Here, the late Ian Charlston portrays Liddell, a Scottish missionary who uses his running for Christian purposes. This contrasts with the Cambridge student Abrahams (a Jewish son of a Lithuanian immigrant), who uses it as a means of pride and self-respect against racial prejudice. Both men competed in the 1924 games in Paris, only less than a decade after the world was still recovering from the first war.
From a filmmaking standpoint, director Hugh Hudson did an interesting thing I'd like to mention. He played certain race sequences in real time, and then rehashed them in slow-motion, such as when Abrahams and Liddell compete for the first time, and the former's self-drive is initially crushed. (The same goes for Vangelis's experimental score, which juxtaposes electronic instruments with period drama; and this was only one year before he composed Ridley Scott's sci-fi thriller Blade Runner.)
Reflecting on my high school and college years, the film's themes of success and competition are something I can identity with. The way Abrahams and Liddell face various forms of personal conflict, conviction, and integrity is genuine, contemplative, challenging, gripping, and (by the end) moving, considering the respective impacts on themselves and those around them.
The spiritual and moral themes of Chariots of Fire are worthwhile, especially for families and young adults (namely students) looking for inspiration in this present time of isolation, self-reflection, and hope for eventual victory, both personally and collectively.
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