In Peter Weir’s DEAD POETS SOCIETY, we witness the impact of a teacher at a strict college and former student who imparts a desire for those in his care to ‘make their lives extraordinary’.
A brand-new tragi-documentary, THE GREEN WAVE, premiering at the inaugural Los Angeles International Film Festival, focuses on one firebrand of a firefighter-cum-sports coach, Louis Mulkey aka ‘Captain of Engine 15’, who created such an impact at a South Carolina school, Summerville (aka ‘THE GREEN WAVE’ of the title) whilst working over twelve years as a full-time Charleston fireman and insisting that they would win the 2008 Basketball State Championship.
Featuring interviews with both family members, colleagues and former students, the film chronicles Mulkey’s impact on the basketball field as a determined and very strict coach who would stop at nothing to ensure that whoever was going to get in the team would also make sure they did their school work in other disciplines, but then takes a sad turn when Mulkey is revealed as one of several firefighters who have perished in a dreadful fire at a sofa furniture store in an event that, became the biggest tragedy since 9/11.
There is much to reflect in the film and once again, THE GREEN WAVE reminds us of how much one person can make a difference to a community and a group of people who seemingly seem to lack that extra spark to produce what they need to win games and become true champions, both as human beings and as sportsmen, an attribute that the late Kobe Bryant believed in whenever he performed in real-life and on the court.
Anybody who follows sports knows that history is made in moments – and the climactic game provides one example that anybody, regardless of whether you like basketball or not, can identify with. Overall, though, THE GREEN WAVE is an interesting and enlightening tale that provides much inspiration and insight into a community that were affected by both triumph and tragedy on all fronts.
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