The Grizzlies (2019)

Sports movies have that arc that happens in each one. Inspirational leader, usually with his (almost always a him) own demons, stumbles across a rag tag group that needs inspiring, and they find it through the love of "the game" building camaraderie and a sense of purpose, leading to a climax where they beat all the odds and win or some equivalent, a moral victory. We've seen it all a hundred times and often it's hard to take these things seriously due to the formulaic nature of the stories.

Western movies about racialized cultures also come with their baggage. The white teacher that inspires a group of marginalized kids of some other racial group is a trope that we see again and again in movies (reversed in To Sir With Love but the same idea). These films' glorification of the white savior complex and model minority complex often reduce the stories to something trite. So going into The Grizzlies I was worried.

Fortunately The Grizzlies mostly deals with these problems in a way that pays real tribute to the people who lived this story in real life. The Grizzlies pretty much embrace both issues, the sports film cliches and the white teacher caricature and finds a way to make it all feel honest. It seems aware of these issues, taking them head on, showing us that there remain problems with these ideas but finding what hope they can in this true story.  The cast and director Miranda de Pencier  own it and make it something inspiring.

And within this milieu they find a way to get into the hard truths about northern communities. The film doesn't pull punches or provide easy answers. There is a difficult subplot about an abused youth who sees how his abusor's history with residential schools is the source of their struggle. His father never gets redeemed, but is also not a two dimensional villain. His story is a tragic one that his son is able to overcome.

de Pencier finds a strong visual narrative in her directorial debut. Her film truly inhabits the space it is set in and immerses us in the story. The Grizzlies is a stunningly beautiful film, not just for the landscape but for the way it is captured and explored. The town is as much a character as any one of the actors.

The Grizzlies is everything one would expect but it also manages to be more and offers a real tribute to the people it is celebrating.

The Grizzlies
Starring: Ben Schnetzer, Booboo Stewart, Paul Nutarariaq, Anna Lamb, Natar Ungalaaq, Tantoo Cardinal, Aletha Arnaquq-Baril, Will Sasso
Director: Miranda de Pencier
Writers: Moria Walley-Beckett, Graham Yost