A scrappy young team of underdogs — in both sports and life — must find a way to unite and win that big championship.Can they do it? How many times have we seen that story, and who among us couldn’t write the ending right now?That may be just what you’re thinking as you settle into “Rez Ball,” the latest entry in the canon of inspirational youth sports movies, and the sub-canon of inspirational youth basketball movies.
And yes, there’s a lot you can predict from the outset, not to mention lines you could have pre-written, word for word.But that doesn’t mean your heart won’t be caught up in this deeply felt, poignantly told story from Navajo country, especially when the last player takes that last shot in those final seconds — never mind some heavy-handed moments.And it bears mentioning that the basketball pedigree is unimpeachable here, with none other than LeBron James producing.So many movies begin promisingly and fail to stick the landing.
“Rez Ball,” directed by Navajo filmmaker Sydney Freeland (the title is shorthand for "reservation ball”) is quite the opposite, a movie whose ending lifts the rest of the film up with it.Indeed, there’s a palpable sense of fresh energy — visual, and emotional — the minute our underdog team, the Warriors from the fictional town of Chuska, New Mexico, arrives at the state championships in Albuquerque.But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.Freeland and co-writer Sterlin Harjo, their script inspired by Michael Powell’s book “Canyon Dreams,” begin with a flashback.
Young boys Nataanii and Jimmy are playing basketball in happier times.We move to their high school years.
They're both skilled players — especially Nataanii, whose height, grace and speed have made him a local hero.But life has taken a dark turn.Nataanii (Kusem Goodwind) sat out the previous season because of the deaths of his mother and sister at the hands of a drunken driver, a tragic but not uncommon occurrence in the commun...