Review: 'The Rocket' shoots and scores!
Posted Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at 10:42 AM Central
by John Couture
There are very few films that are released in a given year that just give you goosebumps when you watch them. The Rocket is one of those movies.
If The Rocket had been about baseball and Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in the sport, it would have garnered numerous Academy Award nominations and it would be bandied about with Cinderella Man, Hoosiers and Rudy in the discussion for best true sports movie ever made.
But alas, The Rocket is a movie about the early days of hockey dealing primarily with issues that have no resonance with modern American audiences. But, that shouldn't diminish the impact of this movie.
For the sake of full disclosure, I should tell you that i have been playing hockey since I was three and my dad is French Canadian, so I do have a little more perspective on the story than most, but I also recognize what a great job they did with such a compelling person.
Maurice Richard (REE-shard) was arguably the first star of the game and helped to build the dynasty that would become the Montreal Canadiens. But Richard was also a French Canadian and in his day, they were as ostracized in hockey as African-American baseball players were in the days leading up to Jackie Robinson.
I could go on and on about the player and the person that was Maurice Richard, but The Rocket does a wonderful job illustrating all of the facets of this simple, yet complicated man.
While the film is a Canadian production, don't let that fool you. It has all the bells and whistles that would make you swear that it was $100 million Hollywood studio movie. You have to remember, hockey is Canada's passion, you know that they would treat the story of Maurice Richard with the reverence that it deserves.
In particular, the weaving of the actors into archival footage really went a long way in selling the movie as being set during World War II. But the setting is only half the story.
The real story is something that many Americans didn't realize was happening. To put it in perspective, think of the great divide that happened in the Civil War and couple that with the racial divide of Jackie Robinson trying to make it into baseball.
That's what Maurice Richard faced when he tried out for the Montreal Canadiens. Despite playing in the French Canadian city of Montreal, the NHL was still dominated by English speaking Canadians from other parts of Canada.
At the time (and many say to this day), the French Canadians believed in a complete disconnect from the rest of Canada. It was a very real us vs. them mentality. Maurice Richard was their first hero. He was their champion. And ultimately, he was what every young French Canadian dreamed of becoming one day.
For this reason alone, I strongly suggest watching the subtitled version of the film. I know that it's easier to watch the dubbed version, but you lose some of the ambience and tone of the movie. For instance, Maurice Richard only knew French when he started for the Canadiens, but their coach only spoke English, so the language barrier that he had to overcome is completely lost on the dubbed version, but plays really nicely on the subtitled version.
Another highlight of the DVD package is the "A Tribute to Maurice Richard, The Rocket" featurette. It is a glowing piece that really underscores the importance of this single man to the game that all Canadians grew up adoring. The deleted scenes with director commentary really highlight the filmmaking process.
Perhaps the most telling sign of how good this movie is and the significance of The Rocket is the involvement of so many current and former NHL players. And these just aren't also-ran role players. Vincent Lecavlier is a star in today's NHL for the Tampa Bay Lightning and plays Montreal legend Jean Beliveau.
At the end of the day, if you're looking for a great sports movie that will shed some light on our neighbors to the North, I can't recommend The Rocket highly enough. Every sports fan should see this movie.