Very cool perspective of running. Definitely will be watching it again in the future.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
If you are interested in long distance running and are open to the more inner aspects of it, then this is a must see for you.
It is extremely hard to make a good movie both about ultra running and modern day spirituality, but to combine them in a single project is really challenging. I've seen Sanjay Rawal's earlier works and I really liked them, but I was quite curious how will he manage this one, especially that this is quite a long movie.
Well, the events covered(the hunt in Africa may be an exception) are not really action packed - a bunch of determined runners circling around a New York suburb block (on concrete pavement) or a Japanese Buddhist monk circling a holly mountain for one thousand days, while immersed in prayer. Still by forging the different stories together it became quite a dynamic visual feast.
The movie is really beautifully shot and it gives it a subtle, dignified feeling.
If you are interested in the topics and feel a bit low or just need some inspiration to go on with the projects of your life this movie will definitely give you a big inspirational lift.
Highly recommended!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Award winning directors Sanjay Rawals latest offering is 3100: Run and Become, a feature film length documentary that explores the historic and current relationship between running and spirituality and its connection to personal growth.
It focuses primarily on Finnish ultra-runner Ashprihanal Aalto. A simple man, who lives alone and only really trains by delivering newspapers during his daily job, Aalto happens to be one of the best multi runners in the world.
The movie then moves focus to the Navajo nation and their connection with running and their mother earth. It also explores the Kalahari Bushmen who were "Born to Run" and touches on the difficulties they have in maintaining their traditional hunting activities.
Perhaps the rarest footage is of the is of the legendary Marathon Monks of Japan's Mt. Hie. Spectacularly dressed, looking more like star wars action figures than spiritual seekers, the aspirants pilgrimage around the mountain in their thousand day quest for enlightenment, covering immense distances every day. The monks feel their prayers while running uplift the world as they act as intermediaries between the Buddha and the earth, climbing, praying and circumnavigate the mountain for years on end. It took the film crew three visits to the head monk to be allowed to film. They are not interested in publicity, just their own spiritual progress. The access Rawal got was inspiring, visually uplifting and unprecedented.
Ultimately this film probably opens some doors to us all explaining why many of us run when we are asked by a non-runner 'Why would you do that?' I loved it
