Personal Best
Directed by: Sam Blair
2012
Against the expectations and spectacle that goes with the mediatised event of the Olympic Games, Personal Best seems to make a counter-statement choosing an off-stream point of focus.
Personal Best follows the careers of four British sprinters aspiring to enter the 2012 London Olympic Games. Filmed over four years, the documentary records how running entered the lives of these athletes and what the dream of the Olympics means to them. Leaving the ultimate selection and the Games out of its frame, Personal Best captures what normally remains beside the point: the dedication, hard training and pressing desire that drives hundreds of athletes to aim for the Olympics, eventually making this event what it is.
It could be argued that Personal Best does not provide any significant or ground-breaking insight into the lives of athletes training for the Olympics. We all kind of already knew that a lot of hard training went into it. The documentary shies away from any technical, precise analysis of the way these athletes train, progress or even perform. We don’t know what their daily routine exactly is or how much better they need to get to win. What their discipline exactly is and what does it mean to perform it is also left to the viewer to infer.
The documentary, however, presents a strong selection of characters. A passion for all, running means to each of them something different. James Ellington started running very young to keep away from the rough streets of his neighbourhood. For Jeanette Kwakye running has become a way to achieve discipline, assert determination and develop self-assurance. For Richard Alleyne running to enter the 2012 Olympic Games means going back to a passion that, after injury, he gave away all together. For Omardo Anson, 17 and still deciding whether he will become a professional athlete, running represents a safe den, away from worries and problems.
Personal Best also shows that the Olympics are not a moment of monolithic achievement in the life of an athlete as we might like to think. Through the personal careers of the four sprinters, the documentary shows how this 2012 Olympics comes in at very different moments in the life of the athletes. For James this is the occasion to be out of his comfort zone. For Jeanette the 2012 Olympics are a determined come back after injury and a deceiving final at the 2008 Olympics. For Richard, training for the Games after a period of recovery from a medical operation, is a test to his impatience and pride. For Omardo, the event remains a dream towards which he could still gear his future life to.
If media make Olympic athletes look like unreachable beings, on which nature has bestowed a special power, Personal Best brings the Olympic dream down to the accessible size of personal choice and dedication. And while of these Olympic Games cameras will record moments of glory and victories, Personal Best dives into the mistakes, weaknesses and injuries of a much less glamorous image of athletes outside the Olympic stadium.
Visually, Personal Best is a real example of controlled framing, balanced images and sharp focus. Even though this is not the first time slow motion pictures of athletes running are shown, the documentary presents some extraordinary sequences.
Perhaps Personal Best won’t radically change your perception of the Olympic Games. But it might be a reminder that, for some, the Olympics are not just a fugitive moment on television, but rather a life-investing project made of dedication, deceptions, hope and all the year round passion.
fiamma
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