In his Rez Ball film review, Kevin Bourne says it is “simply a highly inspirational story about brotherhood, community, and the love of the game”
2024 is the year for sports movies at the Toronto International Film Festival, including the wrestling film Unstoppable and the boxing film The Fire Inside. Another addition to the list of sports offerings at TIFF 24 is the Lebron James and Springhill Company produced film Rez Ball. But where the other sports films are biopics focusing on Black athletes, one having a disability, Rez Ball is a fictitious story featuring Native Americans, a group we don’t see a lot of in mainstream American cinema.
Directed by Sydney Freeland, and starring a cast of Indigenous actors from both Canada and the United States, including Jessica Matten, Kauchani Bratt, Devin Sampson-Craig, Amber Midthunder, Kusem Goodwind, and Julia Jones, Rez Ball is simply a highly inspirational story about brotherhood, community, and the love of the game.
Set in the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, Rez Ball tells the story of the Chuska Warriors high school basketball team in their quest for a national championship in the face of tragedy. After losing their captain and best player, Nataanii (Goodwind), his best friend, Jimmy (Bratt), must try to fill his shoes and lead his team to championship glory.
Although this film will attract audiences just by virtue of being a basketball movie, it also provides a good glimpse into Native American life, including what it’s like to live on a reserve. Let’s be honest, most of us have never seen a reserve before and have no idea what they look like. Most of us don’t have Native American or First Nations friends to give us some insight into their culture. And although the industry has done a better job of highlighting Black and Asian faces on the big and small screens in recent years as a part of their diversity, equity and inclusion measures, Indigenous people have yet to get the same mainstream, industry love.
Now, this film is enlightening in that it both highlights the uniqueness of Native American culture, while showing that they are no different than anyone else. They like basketball, hip-hop, and fast food just like the rest of us. The film also does a good job of highlighting. some of the social issues faced by Native Americans.
When it comes the action scenes, the basketball sequences were well-shot and choreographed (as you’d expect from a Lebron James backed sports movie). Jessica Matten and Kauchani Bratt did a good job of leading this cast and film with their performances, especially Bratt who did an excellent job of portraying a Robin who shows growth and dimension as he becomes a Batman in his own right after losing his friend.
In the end, Rez Ball is an inspirational and well-made film with great storytelling. Hopefully, it’s a sign of things to come when it comes to modern Indigenous stories being told in mainstream film. Let’s hope.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 300 international voters for the 81st and 82nd Golden Globe Awards by the Golden Globe Foundation and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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