"Killing Ball" - a film about people who have decided to accept their physical problems

"Killing Ball" - a film about people who have decided to accept their physical problems

How can you burn for victory even in a wheelchair?

The Canadians invented a shocking contact sport they called "murderball" in English. At the moment it is called quadruple rugby. The sport is played by people who have lost all four limbs due to illness. They compete in specially designed armored wheelchairs. These men may struggle to put on their shoes, open a pizza box, or shake hands tightly, but they play without helmets, with tremendous courage, and often end up upside down on the floor. For the game in question, directors Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro decided to make a documentary in 2005, bearing the same name "Murderball".

Along with producer Jeffrey Mandel, the filmmakers focus on two antagonists—one from the American team and one who coaches the Canadian team—as they face each other at the 2002 World Cup in Sweden and then at The Paralympic Games in Athens in 2004. There's plenty of action, personal portraits and heart-wrenching scenes in this gripping documentary.

One of the players shared that the mind becomes a disability when it becomes attached to the idea of walking again, which is impossible. Therefore, the thought of "killer ball" players is only related to victory, which is achieved only through fierce determination and strict discipline.

Mark Zupan is one of the most successful in the American team and becomes the spokesperson of the team. He is a muscular gladiator who lives to practice this sport. While he is sleeping in a car, his best friend Christophe Aigou crashes into the vehicle and Zupan is permanently crippled. Out of guilt, Aigou does not appear at the class reunion, but Zupan invites him to the Greek capital for the Paralympic Games.

In one of the best scenes, Zupan visits a rehabilitation center where a keen cyclist who has suffered a spinal injury is inspired by the idea that he can return to the sport by playing rugby fours. His spirits are visibly lifted as he uses the special armored wheelchair.

The coach of the main opponent of the United States is Joe Soares. He is an American cut from his country's national team and determined to head north to lead the Canadian national team. Soares has been called a traitor by former players who played under him, but that doesn't bother him. The coach is single-minded and takes immense pleasure when Canada wins the World Cup final, ending their 11-year losing streak.

Soares has far more drama and it has to do with problems at home. His twelve-year-old son is not interested in sports and instead seeks his father's approval for his academic abilities and musical talents. Soares has a heart attack, after which he begins to understand his son and the others more. Some of his relatives called the hit a "gift from God."

Perhaps the most emotionally engaging portrait in this documentary is of a Team USA competitor who has no legs and only prosthetic arms. He poignantly says, "We use whatever we can to get through life."

Killing Ball is a wheelchair movie that will take you to places you've never been before and give you a chance to meet some extraordinary personalities.