The movie Chariots Of Fire...
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The movie Chariots Of Fire is based on the true lives of two Olympic runners and what makes them run. You can see the difference between the two men right in the film's opening. As the music of the hauntingly beautiful theme plays we see the group of athletes running along the beach in training. One by one the camera invites us to examine their faces. Eric Little, the Scotsman who is also an evangelist, a son of a missionary who later became a missionary himself, runs with relish, a smile on his face. He runs because he loves it. More precisely, he runs because his ability is a gift of God and he loves God who made him a runner. Harry Abrams, who hates being Jewish and is friends with rich nobility and dates a famous actress, runs with his face a grimace of pain, more driven to win than to run, hating himself and the world when he can't win and still hating when he does win because he's afraid. The movie centers on Eric's belief that God made him for a purpose and also made him fast. And it also centers on Harry's fear and pain and joyless life. They both win gold medals and return to England, Eric amid the cheers of the crowds and surrounded by other athletes; Harry alone and bitter still. Both receive their rewards, but we see these rewards in different ways. One is alive and joyful in his life; the other is dead and tortured inside. -- Mosley
