Chasing Great – An Ode to New Zealand’s All Blacks

“Justin Pemberton and Michelle Walshe’s documentary Chasing Great follows All Blacks team captain Richie McCaw through his final season,” writes Chris Packham in a review for the Village Voice.

“Even if you know nothing about rugby, or the massive importance of the 2001–15 All Blacks national team to New Zealanders, Chasing Great lays out the stakes clearly in its earliest moments: No team has ever won the Rugby World Cup two consecutive years, and New Zealand team captain Richie McCaw has announced that the 2015 season will be his last. Then the documentary jumps into nostalgia.”

“Directors Justin Pemberton and Michelle Walshe combine home video of McCaw as a heavyset and extremely athletic farm kid discovering his talents, family interviews, and dreamy reenactments, all under the low rumble of McCaw’s voiceover.”

“It’s clear where all of this is going, but McCaw surprises with his mental rigor (he excelled academically) and total commitment to his sport (he plays with a stress fracture in his foot),” writes Packham.

“He’s a meticulous strategist who attends to tiny details and has cultivated several habits of highly effective open-side flankers. He’s almost preternaturally calm despite the multiple pressures of his final season, through early victories and three stunning midseason losses.”

Article Source: Village Voice, Chris Packham, February 27, 2018
Image Source: Youtube