No question that Endurance is a splendid film about an unlikely hero. And heaven knows, we need inspirational sagas to lend a spiritual hand up to the next generation of would-be athletes. But if your subscriptions to Runner's World or National Geographic lapsed because their subject matter held little interest for you, then Endurance may test your patience. East African folk rhythms and exotic Ethiopian locations set the realistic tone for the docudrama, which has the nifty gimmick of being acted, with very little spoken dialogue, by the same people who actually lived the incidents portrayed onscreen. But, as real as he is, Haile Gebrselassie is a runner, not an actor, and he and his family members are just a bit too "real" as they go through the domestic turmoil caused by Haile's decision to become an unlikely world class athlete. Co-director Bud Greenspan filmed each of the Atlanta Olympics' 10,000 meter finalists individually in anticipation of the feature film, so viewers could be watching the life history of a Burundian, Briton, Moroccan, or a Dane had they won. As it is, Haile's story is compelling, but not indispensable -- unless one needs the inspiration to become a world-class runner.
