Movie Night - Chariots of Fire

We did finish the book about Eric Liddell, Something Greater Than Gold, as part of our history studies in Tapestry of Grace Year 4. It was a great read that we all enjoyed very much, and even though I knew he would die at the end, I cried and most of the children cried with me. He died in China of a brain tumor while he was interned by the Japanese during the latter years of World War II. At the time of his death he had been interned for nearly 2 years, and some time prior to that had made the difficult decision to send his pregnant wife and 2 young daughters home, for safety's sake. Thus, he had been separated from his wife for 5 years and had a 3rd baby daughter he had never seen. Yet the way he focused on his mission work, and lived his life in service of others, was so inspiring. His was a life that was truly lived well. Because we finished the book, we were able to watch Chariots of Fire last night.

I had seen the movie several times when it first came out in 1981, and for a while it was my all time favorite movie. Honestly, after reading the book, this time viewing the movie left me somewhat flat. The movie only covers the one year in his life where he was preparing for, and running in, the 1924 Olympics (which I knew) and it changed many details of his life and centered around an intense rivalry with another runner that hadn't existed as such in real life (which I'd forgotton). The book was so much better!

But our children enjoyed it, except for some moments of boredom during some talking parts. They had fun watching for his signature running style (head thrown back, arms flailing) and listening to his Scottish brogue. Even though the changes were annoying, it was a well-made movie and did portray Eric as always putting God first. The contrast between how he approached life, and how his rival approached life, was striking. I'm glad we did both together ~ read the book and saw the movie, and could discuss what was true and good about each. It was a good evening!