Saturday, January 9, 2016

McFarland, USA 2015


     This film is based on the actual 1987 McFarland High School cross-country team and their coach.  Jim White was a high school football team coach but he was fired after a pre-game session turned into verbal and physical abuse of a player.  Now he doesn’t have many job choices and he moves his wife and two daughters to McFarland, California.  He has a job as assistant football coach but the coach wants him fired after one practice session.  Jim is still a teacher but he's now not a coach.  He begins to think about cross-country running since he has seen how well some of the guys can run. 
     The runners are all Latino and some of them get up before school to help their parents pick in the fields.  This is how they put food on the table and they need everyone in the family to work.  White learns he needs to work training sessions around their schedules in the field and communicate with the parents to keep the runners.  The team starts off with no chance to win but they start moving up.  3 ½* (I liked this movie)

129 min, Sport directed by Niki Caro with Kevin Costner, Maria Bello, Ramiro Rodriguez, Carlos Pratts, Johnny Ortiz, Rafael Martinez, Hector Duran, Serfio Avelar, Michael Aguero, Diana Maria Riva, Omar Leyva, Morgan Saylor, Elsie Fisher.

Note:  Imdb 7.4 out of 10, 80% critic 88% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 3 ½*.
Special Note:  The director Niki Caro is a woman from New Zealand. This movie was filmed in Kern County, California.

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