Rising From Ashes (T.C. Johnstone): USA

Reviewed by Jacob Dekker.  Viewed at the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2013.

Rising from Ashes tells a true and triumphant story.

On paper, T.C. Johnstone’s Rising from Ashes is one of this films that could either be really dull or really interesting.   Narrated by Forrest Whitaker, cycling legend Jock Boyer moves to Rwanda to start a cycling team.  After reading the synopsis of this film I figured it would only capture the interest cyclists, unless it had a good narrative and  strong characters.  And after six years of production I assumed that Rising from Ashes is one of those films that can either be made or broken in the editing room.

Luckily this film is packed with strong characters, a gripping plot, and fantastic cinematography.  The film is shot and edited like an action movie which keeps things interesting.  The camera moves and cuts slower during dramatic moments, and speeds up during intense race scenes.  The film documents Boyer’s journey throughout Rwanda as he searches the country for cycling talent and builds a team to put Rwanda on the map once agaim.  When it comes down to it this film is about trust, fatherhood, and redemption.  Boyer becomes a father figure to his racers, and the racers learn to trust him and each other.  As you’d expect the team has some challenges they are faced with, and a war torn past to overcome.

For being a film about cycling, something that I have very little interest, I found this film to be very exciting.  At times I even forgot I was watching a documentary.  Some of the cinematography, editing, and mise-en-scene was so rich it felt like I was watching a feature film.  The film is masterfully paced.  Some of the scenes felt like they had been recreated for dramatic purposes, but for the mot part the performances very authentic, as one should expect in a documentary.

One of the only gripes with the film is that it does not really have much of an ending.  The ending is more of a cliffhanger, rather than a resolution.  It felt like the last twenty minutes were rushed.  It would have been nice if there was a bit more information about the riders on the team, but I am guessing after six years of production the producers thought it was time to finish up.  While this did not really feel like it hurt the film that much it definitely felt like a missed opportunity.  If there was a bit more closure this would have easily been one of the best (if not the best) film I saw at the film festival.

Whether you are into cycling or not, this tale of redemption and fatherhood is not one you should miss.