The Brighton Miracle

I'm a big fan of that great romantic hero, the underdog who overcomes the odds and the obstacles to achieve the goal, to emerge victorious.

In that sense, The Brighton Miracle certainly does not disappoint. Still, that's not enough to warrant a 10/10 rating.

What I found to be unique, artistic, edgy and utterly creative was the way they blended the real world people with their dramatized versions, especially the most challenging: Eddie Jones and Michael Leitch. The movie moved seamlessly between the brilliant acting of Temuera Morrison and Lasarus Ratuere, and the commentary of their real life counterparts, slaughtering yet another sacred cow of cinema (the other sacred cow that was recently slaughtered was that of mixing real actors with animated characters). That wasn't just true for those two; the entire supporting cast made me a believer in the exact same way.

Conceptually, I "knew" when I was watching an actor act and speak lines vis à vis when the "real" person was sharing their commentary. At the same time, however, on a much deeper level, I was always aware, I always recognized that the persona I was watching in either case was one and the same. They merged to form something greater than logic: Myth.

That, in my opinion, is the measure of a true work of art. 10/10

It's starts a little clunky and feels a little under cooked budget wise but the story grows on you and you can't help but feel happy for the team as they transform from the easy beats to become world beaters.

I'm no rugby fan but I never once felt like I wasn't interested in the outcome.

The message is the thing here and while it feels a little preachy and lacking a touch of comic relief, I found it a moving and believable portrayal of sporting life and achievement in general.

The way the film cuts between the real people interviews and the recreation scenes works better than I would have imagined they could.

As a kiwi I knew who Eddie Jones is and to be fair wasn't a big fan from seeing him in the news over the years. This doco changed my mind what a great leader and coach. You don't have to be into rugby to enjoy this ride/movie. I found it interesting and inspirational. Temuera Morrison did a good job on playing Eddie Jones.

I'm not a big rugby fan and I loved it. The word, "inspirational" is getting thrown around here in the reviews, but there's a reason for that! It's a David and Goliath story for sure, but it's not done in a hackneyed way. This is no Bad News Bears story, or even some predictable "plucky little guys slay monster" story. The movie revolves around a hard-nosed coach who know how to push his team to their limits and exploit their own strengths and the weaknesses of their opponents. Even knowing the end result, I was still on the edge of my seat throughout the climactic game at the end. I loved getting to see some of the real players and participants. I'm looking forward to watching it again.

This low budget Australian movie tells the story of the Japanese preparation for the 2015 Rugby World Cup and their victory over rugby powerhouse South Africa. Filmed entirely in Australia it is a beautiful example of telling a story with little money.

Basically, the acting is okay, the cinematography is minimal except where the cinematographer or director insisted that they needed a 360 shot to prove their skills, and the acting is good enough.

But what makes this stand out is that it is a great story. Using interviews with real people it comes across as a documentary where the reenactment scenes took over the film and it became a movie.

Well worth watching.