Rising Phoenix

This was SOOOOO good! I have not noticed it on my Netflix home page. In fact, I had to do a name search to find it on Netflix. I actually noticed it on the "More Like This" section on IMDB after rating My Octopus Teacher. Wow! I am so glad that it was there! I haven't ever watched the Paralympic Games, but I am just as excited to see them next year. I am actually more excited to see them than the Olympic Games. This documentary was so touching. I absolutely loved it!

I was lucky to work for Paralympic movements for 6 six years. Those were the best 6 six years. I met a lot of best athletes and people on this planet. This documentary brings back a lot of good memories, and re-inspired me to be a stronger and better person.

This is a really interesting film set more as a group of stories than a standard documentary. It is equal parts uplifting and engaging. The important thing here is it shines a light on incredible athletes and people who are often hidden behind able-bodies counterparts.

What I found most engaging was that with each person featured, the audience got to know their story and a little about their past and journey to the Paralympics. I can agree it can feel a bit rushed, but that's only because each person's story and journey had enough meat to be its own movie. But, it seems like Parasport champions don't get these kind of fictional power stories like other athletes such as Michael Jordan, Michael Bennett, IU basketball, the 1980 US Hockey team, a horse named Seabiscuit, the Oakland As, you get the idea. These are all inspiring stories, and every on of the athletes who participate in the Paralympics can equal them.

I don't agree with The NY Times narrow view of the documentary lambasting it for showing athletes at the top of their game and that using the idea that this is some sort of advertisement as a negative. Of course it is! In the best way. The Paralympics do not receive widespread attention it deserves. Look what almost happened in Rio. If watching this documentary is an inducement for someone, who would otherwise be unaware of the amazing athletes or the sports, to take interest and start following, well that's sort of the point. And this film showcases it well. Documentaries are made to bring attention to the subject matter to shine the light in a positive or eye opening way or provide commentary on the subject matter.

I rated this a 10 because I really want to encourage people to see this documentary because the content is fantastic. If this was getting more attention I'd realistically rate it an 8 from a pure technical film standpoint. Some of the cuts and editing choices could have been done a bit better. It did have that feeling that they needed to get everything in this one film because it was their only chance. This easily could have been set as a short docu-series with each episode focusing on an individual athlete and overlaying the history and recent olympics. However, the content, as mentioned, was fantastic.

I am not usually one for documentaries but this one was riveting and had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Although I was surprised to find myself in tears at certain times and laughing at other times. This has forever changed my mind about the Paralympics and something that I would like to attend in the future.

Beautifully told stories of many Paralympic competitors, as well as the story of how parasports began and the struggle the Games have faced over the years to exist. Informative, inspiring, heart wrenching!