A Most Beautiful Thing

Where 1 out of every 3 kids die before they reach 18, drugs and arms are sold as potatoes-onions, witnessing murders is like watching a street show, your home is a vacation home as jail being your permanent and gangs are like clubs at every corner of the every street, ... This was 1990s the westside of Chicago... of all these odds, a team emerges at a school, initiated, built and sponsored by an UPenn alumni, a Jewish white guy.... the first African American high school rowing team! Who were these guys in the team, What happened to them? Did they survive, did they succeed or fail? How people face struggles and how they win the real race.. Beautiful memoir of one of those teammates .. truly inspiring..this documentary may lack an in-depth characterization of the individuals, but has a great collective rhythm... great background score..a great watch

As a 45 year old white male from Indianapolis who's visited Chicago countless times, I was in utter disbelief of the cycle of violence these men and their community has endured. While watching this documentary, everything that I've seen from Ferguson to George Floyd to the BLM movement suddenly made sense. Can I relate? Absolutely not, but I was finally able to 'understand' the pure injustice faced in the daily lives of African Americans in America. It was shocking to see the life and death decisions forced upon young African Americans, particularly males, in Chicago and for all intents and purposes, across the nation. I am far from sheltered or naive and have done my best to educate myself on social injustice domestically and globally, but for some reason, this documentary shattered my perceptions. For those people still debating the validity of racism in America, it's time for a wake up call and this film will do the trick. The statistics alone are astonishing, but the strength and determination of these men and their families is almost unfathomable. Add the fact that the film itself is exceptionally well done from a production and direction perspective. This documentary should be a mandatory watch for everyone in America especially in 2020. Thank you to these young men brave enough to accomplish what they have and live to tell their story.

I was moved by the equanimity, positivity and humor displayed by the men in this film, who have overcome so much adversity and are continuing to face obstacles created by the sytemic racism in this country. As the parent of a coxswain and one of the few Asians at rowing regattas, I can somewhat imagine how these African American rowers must have felt in a sport where most of the participants are private school or suburban white kids. The film also demonstrates the power and beauty of rowing, a true team sport which demands dedication and precision from all 9 persons on the boat to win. I would encourage everyone who reads this review to see the film, for which 50% of the profits will go toward supporting diversity and inclusion projects, including rowing programs for underprivileged teens.

Rowing serves as the backdrop of this film is about creating hope in Chicago's West Side. Struggles, hope, mistakes, redemption, setbacks, courage, kindness ... these are the materials that form this documentary. I think it's fair to say it presents without preaching. As a former HS and college rower with kids just now entering HS rowing, there were plenty of ways for me to connect to the rowers in the film. It was great to also hear their unique struggles coming from Chicago's West Side, and how that shaped their rowing experience. This film is not what I think of as #woke. The athletes and those around them are shown looking inward -- at the difficult hand they were dealt, but also at their own mistakes and opportunities, and always also looking at what they can do to offer hope to the community. Things that I value: rowing, the church, academics, peace, courage, hard work, family dedication, forgiveness and sacrifice -- all of these things are honored at various points in the story. And it is a beautiful story, I'm grateful to all those who were a part of it.

How this could even be done,, a rowing team made up of ghetto black youth shown also as men, is simply amazing.