“Race” follows the career and achievements of track and field star Jesse Owens (Stephan James) from 1934 to 1936, during which he competed, and medaled, in the Berlin Olympics.
The Stephen Hopkins directed film attempts to explore race in terms of track and field as well as in terms of racial discrimination. However, the film gives far more screen time to the athletics of Owens’ life rather than racial tensions in 1930s America.
The movie starts off right away with the successes of Owens, who is preparing to leave his home and family to attend and run track and field at the University of Ohio, where he meets Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis), the track and field coach. While initially at odds, Owens and Snyder both strive to have Owens run at the 1936 Olympic games, and come to an understanding before eventually becoming friends.
While Owens’ college career progresses, where he sets records in several track and field events and wows even the whites in the crowds, another storyline is developed. The American Olympic Committee is going to vote to boycott the Berlin Olympics because of the Nazi’s policies in Germany. The members of the committees are at odds, and before a vote is cast, it is decided that construction firm owner and Olympic committee member Avery Brundage (Jeremy Irons) will travel to Germany to assess the situation.
As the two storylines gear up for the Olympics, we see situations concerning discrimination grow. Owens is urged by the NAACP to boycott the Olympics and not run in Berlin. In Germany, Brudage is at odds with the German propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels (Barnaby Metshurat) over the exclusion of Jews and Germany’s growing blatant racism. Brudage and Goebbels eventually come to a deal, influenced by a side business deal, that allows Brudage to convince the American Olympic Committee to participate in the games.
Owens, after qualifying for the Olympics in three events, is faced with the turmoil of giving up his athletic dreams in order to stand up for Germany’s bigotry. He decides, with the help of friends and family, to run in the Olympics.
In Germany, glimpses are seen of the growing power and influence of the Nazis. Snyder stumbles across what appears to be Nazis gathering up several Jews and sending them away, two Jewish-American athletes are asked by Brudage to not run, and Hitler, who was meant to congratulate all gold medalists, refuses to meet and congratulate Owens. Owens, again with encouragement from those around him, is able to boycott Germany in his own, which is by winning.
Through the course of the Olympics, Owens sets several Olympic records and earns four gold metals, inciting the rage of Hitler and the Nazi regime. Cries of “USA! USA!” can be heard from the viewing stands and notable German athletes fall short of Olympic glory. Owens returns to the United States where he once again faces discrimination, such as having to use a separate entrance to the theater than his white counterparts.
While parts of the movie are able to show the discrimination Owens and others encountered both in America and in Germany, it is only through anecdotes that don’t offer the full scale of bigotry, hatred, and intolerance that Owens met. Owens’ return the United States is also diminished, where he still met discrimination beyond the scope of denied entrance. In addition, the sporting events we see are glorified, and we never see the training and work that Owens put in to get to the Olympics. We only see Owens as a naturally gifted runner.
However, “Race” is able to capture the uncertainty of the times, with reflection on poverty in America during these years, the question over how the United States will act with Germany, and the growing concern in the lives of the German people. While more screen time could have been given to the subplots of the movie, such as with Brudage’s scandal with his business deal with the Nazi regime and his relations with Goebbels, as well as the results of filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl (Carice van Houten) and her outspokenness against Goebbels.
It seems that “Race” hoped to emulate the success that “Selma” saw last year, but feel short as it got stuck in the cliché of a sports film. But, “Race” is able to demonstrate the connection between politics and sports, and how sports can be a tool for politics between countries and the politics of overcoming inequality. While much of the dark surroundings that lie on the fringes of “Race” are left untouched, the film opens these more abrasive concepts to be explored in the future.
