Indy Film Fest: GameChangers ★★★½

For a list of Indy Film Fest showtimes or to buy tickets, please visit https://indyfilmfest.org

By Bob Bloom

The message of the documentary film, “GameChangers,” is simple: On the court, issues of race and economic status are trumped by competitiveness and sportsmanship.

At least, that is the message of former basketball players at Marshall High School from the West Side of Chicago and New Trier High School in Winnetka on Chicago’s North Shore. The two teams met in tournament play in 1965 and 1966, as they vied to advance to the Illinois state championship.

Marshall was an all-black team, and New Trier was all white.

According to the players interviewed in the movie, color was not an issue — at least not among the athletes.

The teams played at a time when racial tensions were rising in the nation — the civil rights movement was gaining momentum, and blacks were marching to demand their rights around the country.

The emphasis of the movie is on the games and the players. The sociological aspects of the conditions during which they played are secondary.

The 1966 game was controversial because it ended with a brawl among spectators from the two schools. The teams had to be rushed off the court and never had a chance to shake hands at the end of the game — which saddened all the players.

And while the movie’s sentiments and observations are admirable, they also are obvious.

The film reaches no memorable conclusions; it basically just asks — If people of different ethnic backgrounds and creeds can get along on a playing field, why can’t they act the same way in a non-sports environment.

That is not meant to detract in any way from “GameChangers.” It is a sincere effort, and its heart is in the right place.

And maybe the point of the movie is not to offer solutions, but by example, showing how sports can be a bridge to a greater understanding.

The athletes from New Trier and Marshall believe that — even more than 50 years after battling on the court. Today, they are not rivals or competitors, but senior citizens who have made contributions to society and have tried to transpose the precepts they learned playing basketball to the world at large.

I am a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com). I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.com or on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.

For a list and schedule of movies being shown at the Indy Film Fest, go to https://indyfilmfest.org