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When times are difficult—when we feel like we’re faced with one obstacle after another—it’s easy to walk away and give up. But the documentary Runner tells the story of one man who faced one hardship after another but refused to give up on his dream—or his country.
Runner follows the story of Sudanese refugee Guor. After escaping the war and devastation of his village as a child, after years on his own, fighting to survive, Guor was reunited with his aunt and uncle and brought to Concord, New Hampshire. Though he barely spoke the language, he soon found his way to the school’s track team, where he found a new support system and discovered a gift for running. His goal became to represent the South Sudanese people in the Olympics. But as war raged on back home, Guor had his own battles to fight to make his dream a reality.
Guor’s story is one of hardship, of determination, of triumph, and of love for his country. After the horrors that Guor was forced to endure as a child—experiences almost too painful to talk about—no one would blame him if he had gotten on the plane and never looked back. Instead, he held on to his national identity, always holding his country in his heart. And as his running career took off, he knew he could use it to bring awareness to the situation in South Sudan and to inspire those from his country to do more, be more, and achieve more.
Guor has an amazing story to tell, and it’s a lot to cover in 90 minutes. But the film manages to tackle a whole lot of topics in a short amount of time. It touches on Guor’s childhood journey through dark animated sequences. It covers his growth as a runner—and the support he received from those in his community, from his coaches, and from his friends. And while building up toward Guor’s Olympic qualification, it also manages to follow the tumultuous political situation in the Sudan.
With so much to report, it would be easy to get caught up in the details—but Runner is also a moving film. The facts are broken up by bursts of emotion: of the South Sudanese supporters who pushed Guor to finish his race in London, of his first trip back to his homeland, of his fight to keep representing his country.
Runner isn’t an in-depth account, but it’s definitely a moving and inspiring one. It’s not just the story of one man and his Olympic dream; it’s the moving story of a war-torn country and millions of refugees trying to find hope and healing.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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