ABSTRACT
The sports documentary habitually shows men as heroic figures in action-style films that highlight physical prowess. While participating of these aesthetics, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's Free Solo (2018) and Bing Liu's Minding the Gap (2018) are excellent character studies that go far beyond the sport portrayed. In Free Solo, professional rock climber Alex Honnold conquers Yosemite's El Capitan, risking his life in the endeavor, yet the directors are also interested in who he is as a man and how he combines his dangerous profession with personal commitment to his girlfriend. In Minding the Gap, Liu explores the role of skateboarding and of his own filmmaking in creating a space in which three young men (Liu, Keire Johnson, and Zack Mulligan) interact, disclosing the roots of the violent behavior they have endured and are reproducing (in Zack's case). The documentary reveals that while skating connects these young men, only filmmaking can truly bring out their deeper emotions.
