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08/07/08
Endurance (1999)
54 %
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 24
Fresh: 13
Rotten:11
Average Rating: 5.9/10
Synopsis: The inspirational story of Haile Gebrselassie, Gold Medal winner at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The film documents his life, from the farms of Ethiopia to international glory. A stirring and... [More]
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Reviews for Endurance
More analytically inclined will be suspicious of the degree of contrivance involved and the stylistic idealization of Third World poverty.
08/05/08
Top CriticInteresting on many levels, but doesn't quite show the passion of the human body like Leni Riefenstahl's Olympia or the thrill of the race like the recent Children of Heaven.
05/26/06
I found the film engrossing, missing only the opportunity to spend more time with the mechanics of distance training and, perhaps through that, to learn how Gebrselassie became the world's best at what he does.
07/21/05
Top CriticNo review available.
02/17/05
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01/12/04
Without looking away from the unhappy circumstances in which many Africans live today, it contrasts the community's material poverty with its spiritual richness,and suggests this may be one of the great lessons that Africa has to teach the West.
10/04/03
A very special sports drama about the drive, determination and grace of an African athlete who is a hero to young black boys around the world
08/21/02
The Olympics sequences are almost completely devoid of drama, and the script never quite makes it clear exactly why he's regarded as being such a special athlete.
04/03/02
It has neither the compelling authenticity of cinema verite nor the dramatic punch of artful fiction.
01/09/02
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10/22/01
Top CriticWe leave the film having learned very little, other than that this exceptional long distance runner is certainly quite an athlete.
02/14/01
This beautiful, highly stylized biographical film tells the story of Olympic gold medal winner Haile Gebrsellasie.
01/01/00
A movie which makes up for its relative deficiency of conflict and setbacks by its bold, stirring meditation on the lives of people in one of the world's poorest countries.
01/01/00
The film leaves so many questions not only unanswered but unasked. Why does Gebrselassie run? What was it like for him to disobey his father and leave home to pursue his dream?
01/01/00
A solid dramatized biography of Gebrselassie, and much of it features the somewhat introspective runner with a sunny smile.
01/01/00
Top CriticWhile it is a little inspiring, the movie doesn't have enough punch to keep an audience interested in something as monotonous as marathon running.
01/01/00
He didn't come from a background of training, coaching and determination, but from the rural hills, where we see him running to school, running to the water well, running to the fields, always with that stoic thrumming of his breath.
01/01/00
Top CriticThis sweetly simple and honest documentary, shouldn't be confused with a feature film
01/01/00
As rich in anthropological detail as it is in human interest.
01/01/00
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