The film “Wrestle” will show on Independent Lens on PBS on May 20. Don’t miss it: It’s a film that everyone in Marin should see to better understand the lives of children of color and/or poverty.
There are children in Marin who face similar challenges but are often forgotten in the broader milieu of wealth and schools that mostly thrive.
Somehow too, this film is an antidote to squabbling on matters that are comparatively trivial relative to what these young men in the film deal with. See this film and then place in order the priorities of our county and our country.
There have been a slew of films over the past few years about kids who overcome challenges through sports and an inspiring teacher, but this is one of the best and most moving, rising above clichés. It is a great example of youth programs and sports at their best helping raise up adolescents racially and/or culturally oppressed. It’s all about overcoming obstacles and enhancing empowerment.
Good documentaries are equivalent to good narrative films, with plots and characters that draw you in. Set in Huntsville, Alabama, the film has at least five — four kids and a dedicated teacher/coach. But the supporting characters of families and friends are equally compelling in their smaller roles. They help create a feeling of intimacy between the main characters and the audience. The filmmakers established trust and intimacy with the lead characters. They open up. One loves these guys.
We follow four young men and some of their families. Jaquan is quiet but his mom makes up for that with energy and a mouth to spare. Teague is more compelling. He has some borderline character challenges and a father who was mentally abusive. But watching him grow and thrive is part of the joy of the film.
Jamario is both troubled and interesting. A scene of him on a bus with one tear streaming down his face is touching. He describes his dad as a deadbeat and at one point acknowledges that he needs mental help.
These are lives most of us never see. His girlfriend describes him: “He’s really an amazing person. He’ll be the first male from his family to graduate high school and go to college. That’s put a lot of stress on him because he wants his family to be proud of him.”
Jamario’s struggle, graduation and love for his daughter is deeply moving. Jailen is seductively lovable, quiet and sweet. “I haven’t seen my mom since I was 2. … She got a new husband and two sons.” He’s the kid who gives a speech accepting a $1,000 donation at a ceremony shortly after he was almost jailed for urinating on the side of the road. Not surprisingly, the police harassment is terrible.
Wrestling is the unifying thread and creates the drama that grabs you, but the film is about the kids’ lives, the poorly supported school, and the teacher who goes above and beyond his other teaching roles to coach and help mentor their lives.
There is joy for some of these young men, but there is also tragedy as we find out that this poorly funded school with its multi-racial and ethnic population will be closed. There’s no justice in closing schools whose low test scores correlate with poverty and racial and ethnic challenges.
There is irony in the fact that this school will become a training academy for police. What a sad commentary on priorities in our society.
While this seems dissimilar to Marin, which isn’t closing schools because of bad test scores and has a less diverse population, there are many lessons to learn from these kids’ experiences. We can use this understanding as we try to improve the lives of children here who face similar challenges.
