The Painted Warrior

Along with revealing the heart of a sport few know much about, this intriguing doc offers an insightful look at the lengths one couple is willing to go to accomplish a collective dream.

Stephen Sinek embodies the unique namesake of the unique documentary, "The Painted Warrior," a film which introduces us to the fascinations of obstacle racing through the sport's most (literally) colorful participant.

It turns out obstacle racing is exactly as the name implies: Through fifty miles of the Mesquite Valley in Arizona, competitors endure a barrage of physical challenges, including leaping over open flames, crawling in mud, and lugging gargantuan things around. Sinek takes on this mind-bending event in fully body paint and not much else, with wife Aeni Domme applying her highly visual color palate to her husband's blank canvas.

What's striking and aspirational about "The Painted Warrior" is the fact Sinek doesn't dominate his sport the way that, say, Joey Chestnut dominates the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Contest. Instead, the doc focuses on the man inside the head -- rather than whomever else it might be that ends up occupying the race's winner's circle. And it's that focus on individualism and mindset which makes "The Painted Warrior" a highly engaging human interest doc. - Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!

Obstacle Racing, or, more appropriately, Extreme Endurance!, is what Stephen Sinek subjects himself to on a fairly regular basis. Apart from the blisters, twisted ankles, sunburn, flesh burns, and cracked skin, this is a mental contest where the greatest challenger is yourself. Sinek, assisted by his artist wife, who paints his skin (therefore the film's title), is in a mental contest with himself, and, because the filmmakers know it, they make the focus internal rather than external.

It's a visually striking poem to what's possible, shot in beautiful countryside and desert, and skillfully cut and scored. There's very little time or space given to Sinek's other competition (outside of himself), and it avoids cliched declarations of heroism. Frequently, Sinek comes across as a pragmatic, not terribly egotistical guy, but someone driven by his own angels and demons.

He's quite a warrior, and this is quite a film.

I ran a marathon once years ago. Trained like heck for it. But this obstacle racing and the training for it is on another level. So intriguing about all the prep and dedication that goes into the sport. And I loved this couple and their relationship. I found them so inspiring! The film is beautifully crafted. It reminded me a little of the classic, Olympia. Really, this was a sensational sports documentary!

This documentary is a really interesting look at Stephen and Aeni, a husband and wife duo, who have created "The Painted Warrior." This is a truly unique story that I was not aware of previously. Stephen gets painted by his wife Aeni in beautiful body paint designs (that you can catch a glimpse of right now in their poster image or trailer) before Stephen takes on daunting obstacle races. Once I saw just a few images of the body painting, I was hooked. I think the movie's poster might be my favorite of all time. The film goes on to delve deeply into their lives and their motivation. By the end of the film I was incredibly motivated to go take on the world. I highly recommend this movie to any documentary lovers out there or any endurance athletes.