KÖYSISSÄ
"Missä lie olisin, jos en olisi alkanut nyrkkeillä kaksi vuotta sitten?" heittää Noel Santiago Nanette Burnsteinin ja Brett Morgenin ohjaamassa dokumentissa Köysissä (On the Ropes) ja kiteyttää samalla monen monen muun mustan nuoren ajatukset.
Noelin lisäksi seurataan George Waltonia ja Tyrone Mansonia, kumpikin nyrkkeilyn tosissaan ottavaa nuorta. Georgelle elämä alkaa hymyillä leveämmin, kun hän voittaa Kultainen hansikas -kisan, joka takaa amatöörinyrkkeilijöille lähes poikkeuksetta pääsyn ammattilaiskehiin. Niin käy Georgellekin, mutta ammattilaisuus tuo mukanaan myös pettymyksiä.
Tyronen elämä menee raiteiltaan, kun yllätysratsiassa Tyronen kodista löytyy huumeita. Tyronelle nyrkkeily on ainoa mahdollisuus päästä slummista kahden tätinsä tyttären kanssa. Tyronen täti kuoli huumeisiin ja aidsia sairastava setä polttaa kotona crackia. Jos Tyrone tuomitaan oikeudessa, ei hänen elämänsä ole koskaan ennallaan.
Nuorten elämän paras sparraaja niin kehässä kuin yksityiselämässäkin on heidän valmentajansa Harry Keitt, joka kesken lupaavaa ammattinyrkkeilijän uraa ratkesi huumeisiin ja sitä kautta rikoksiin. Neljän Sing Sing -vuoden jälkeen hän palasi kehiin valmentajana.
Dokumenttielokuva Köysissä ei kerro vain brooklynilaisesta nyrkkeilysalista vaan myös itsekunnioituksesta ja toivosta. "Nyrkkeilyottelussa ei kohdata niinkään vastustaja, vaan itsensä."
- Ohjaajat: Nanette Burnstein - Brett Morgen
- Tuottaja: PBS, USA, 1999
In English In English In English
ON THE ROPES
The silence in the windowless court room pushes Tyrene Manson's already frayed nerves to the edge. The judge's pen is scratching away at some documents in front of him, and two court officers stand stiffly behind the defendant's table, handcuffs dangling from their belts. "I can't be here, I can't be here," Tyrene repeats to herself, desperation mounting as she waits for the jury to return with their verdict. In the back of the room, the symbols of Tyrene's dreams sit in a bag-a pair of Everlast boxing gloves that Tyrene was due to fight with that very day in the finals of the Golden Gloves Tournament at Madison Square Garden. If the jury's decision is "not guilty," maybe Tyrene can still make it to her long-awaited match. If it's "guilty," her life will never be the same.
Noel Santiago is a welterweight fighter who shows promise and skill but lacks discipline and self-confidence. Noel has daunting odds to overcome: his mother is a former crack addict who disappeared for days at a time when Noel was younger. He has repeated the ninth grade three years running, and boxing at the Bed-Stuy gym seems to be the only positive activity in Noel's life. Noel is at a crossroads in his life, he must choose between school, the streets, and the gym - his decision will forever effect his life.
Boxer George Walton probably has it best: he comes from a stable family of fifteen children and two supportive parents. The year before, George was able to capture the coveted Golden Gloves, the Empire State Games and win the Eastern Olympic trials. This year, he is aiming for the pros, with promising prospects and a dedicated trainer behind him. "My dream is to be the biggest boxing sensation ever. Maybe it's farfetched, but if you don't have dreams, you've got nightmares," notes Walton. With success comes responsibility and he must make some very difficult decisions: like who to trust with his money and career and whether to stay loyal to old friends with the promise of his new success. On The Ropes is a feature-length documentary film that enters the world of boxing at one of its sources-the Brooklyn neighborhood gym that produced superstars Riddick Bowe, Mark Breland and other champions. A new generation of boxers is now training at the Bed-Stuy Boxing Center, using the same rings, gloves, punching bags and jump ropes as their predecessors, and hoping to follow the same path to glory in the pros. The lives of three of these young boxers, and their trainer Harry Keitt, is the subject of "On The Ropes." For a year, filmmakers Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen followed the young fighters and Keitt through what turned out to be a crucial time for all of them as they worked toward the 1997 Golden Gloves Tournament.
The four stories told in "On The Ropes," are woven together by the common threads of the neighborhood, the gym and especially the trainer Harry Keitt. Each boxer transcends the typical coach-athlete relationship; Tyrene is his female protégé; Noel is his obligation; George is his ticket to the elusive success he has been working for. For each of these fighters Harry provides the only constant and unconditional support they have ever known. For this he asks for nothing but 11 0% effort and commitment to their own lives. In the event that they make it big, he deserves to be right there with them, reveling in both the success and rewards. "On The Ropes" brings the viewer inside a corner of contemporary urban reality through these four stories which raise poignant questions: What does it take to fight your way out of your situation? What are the odds you are fighting against? What does it take to win?
- Directors: Nanette Burnstein - Brett Morgen
- Production: PBS, USA, 1999
Päivitys: 18.2.2002 U.E.
