by Stephen Milek
Growing up I had a fascination with Alaska and the Iditarod so when I saw that there was a documentary about a musher coming to the Milwaukee Film Fest I got excited. I was hoping to get a chance to meet Lance Mackey but our schedules didn't work out while he was in town. But I did get to see the movie. And for those that like inspirational documentaries this is one for you.
The Great Alone is the story of four time Iditarod winner Lance Mackey. The movie follows him on the 2013 race and cuts back to home video footage of his childhood. Lance was born to Iditarod winner Dick Mackey and sled dog racing was always in his blood. In fact his mom raced on sled dogs while she was pregnant. But after his dad left the family Lance began a spiral downward with drugs and alcohol. He ended up working on a fishing boat but eventually settled down and got married. He got sober and started getting some dogs. Once he got dogs he got the itch to start mushing again. He started small and surprised every with his team of scrappy dogs. He finally went for the big race The Iditarod. On his first attempt he had a sore throat the whole time. It turned out to be a rapidly growing cancer that needed to be surgically removed. This could have but an end to his racing career. But he didn't let it stop him. He came back and a few years later won the race. Then he won it the next three years and became the first person to ever win the race four years in a row.
The movie is beautifully filmed and shows off the gorgeous but dangerous Alaskan landscape. Lance has a natural presence about him and you can’t help but feel for him. As with any person their life is complicated. In the brief 90 minutes of the movie we get a quick overview of his life. Nothing is really explored a whole lot. But his courage and determination shines through. In doing some reading there has been a lot more Lance has had to overcome, especially with relationships and money (even after his wins) which are not really explored in the movie. I also wish we learned more about his dogs and his kennel. He has a special connection with his dogs but we never get to see much of that in them move.
Overall: B+ A great looking and inspirational film. But I do wish we got to learn more about him, but to cover everything it would have had to be a long film. For a quick introduction to him and the world of mushing it covers what it has too. For more info on him check out this great article in ESPN.
The movie is beautifully filmed and shows off the gorgeous but dangerous Alaskan landscape. Lance has a natural presence about him and you can’t help but feel for him. As with any person their life is complicated. In the brief 90 minutes of the movie we get a quick overview of his life. Nothing is really explored a whole lot. But his courage and determination shines through. In doing some reading there has been a lot more Lance has had to overcome, especially with relationships and money (even after his wins) which are not really explored in the movie. I also wish we learned more about his dogs and his kennel. He has a special connection with his dogs but we never get to see much of that in them move.
Overall: B+ A great looking and inspirational film. But I do wish we got to learn more about him, but to cover everything it would have had to be a long film. For a quick introduction to him and the world of mushing it covers what it has too. For more info on him check out this great article in ESPN.
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