Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics
Race is a portrayal of the college and Olympic track and field career of Jesse Owens, winner of four Olympic gold medals at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. He won gold in the 100-meter sprint, 200-meter sprint, the long jump, and the 4 x 100-meter relay. In the backdrop of the movie, we see racial tension and the possibility of an American boycott of the 1936 Olympic Games. What I like about this film is that the viewer sees Owens' perspective on the track and the long jump pit; we get a sense as to what Owens experienced during the competition. We also see the rivalry between Joseph Goebbels (the minister of propaganda in Nazi Germany) and German film-maker Leni Riefenstahl as she was filming her classic movie, Olympia; both Goebbels and Riefenstahl understood the medium of film as a propaganda tool. From what I have read, Goebbels disliked and may have even feared Riefenstahl. The film also portrays the rivalry and friendship between Owens and German long jumper Luz Long. In sum, Race is a good depiction of one of the greatest Olympic athletes of all time as well as the political/racial backdrop of the times in which Owens competed.