We’ve given you a week (yes, a whole week!) to watch the six films from Our Favourite Lacrosse Films to Watch During Lockdown - Part One, so we think it’s time to unveil six more for you to watch in the next week of potential boredom and eating yourself into oblivion!
Here we go with part two…
1. The Grizzlies (2018)
Premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, The Grizzlies is a film that depicts a youth lacrosse team that was set up to combat the issue of youth suicide in the community of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, in Canada.
The film has been spoken about so much on the England Lacrosse social media channels that we simply had to include it in a list of our favourite lacrosse films.
The Grizzlies, directed by Miranda de Pencier in her feature film directing debut, tells the inspiring true story of a group of Inuit students in the small Arctic town of Kugluktuk, that is plagued by widespread drug use, alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and one of the highest teen suicide rates in the world.
When Russ Sheppard, a white rookie teacher, played by Ben Schnetzer of Pride fame, arrives from the South on a one-year teaching contract, the students are naturally sceptical.
But, when Russ introduces the class to lacrosse, everything changes as they gradually come together to embrace the sport, form Team Grizzlies, and find the inspiration to make shifts in their own lives.
The Grizzlies is currently available to watch online HERE.
2. Transition (2010)
Another film based on a true story, Transition tells the story of high school senior, Chris Jamison, who has recently recovered from cancer, as he attempts to win back his starting spot on the lacrosse team and piece his life back together.
Now, if The Grizzlies is the Michelin starred restaurant on our list then Transition is the local greasy spoon: cheap, cheerful, but delivers on what you want and we love it anyway!
With a budget of $10,000, this film cost nothing to make and you can tell, but the lacrosse set pieces are exciting and dramatic and the coming of age tale is the perfect way to waste a couple of hours!
Transition is not currently available to watch online.
3. The Medicine Game (2013)
The first documentary in this list, The Medicine Game focuses on two brothers from the Onondaga Nation, a sovereign Native American community in New York State, who have ambitions to play for the prestigious and prolific Syracuse University.
As with The Grizzlies, a mixture of substance abuse, poverty, and a real fear of leaving a close-knit community often prevents people from the Onondaga Nation from making it into the top universities.
However, the two brothers in The Medicine Game are determined to not be just another statistic and their love of lacrosse, as well as their family’s determination, propels them towards their dream.
The Medicine Game is currently available in four parts on YouTube here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.
4. Upside (2010)
Perhaps the strangest concept for a film we’ve heard in a while, Upside tells the story of top college lacrosse player, Solomon White, played by Randall Bentley, who has a severe concussion after an accident in a lacrosse match and begins to see everything (yes, you’ve guessed it) upside down!
With a cure for the condition looking increasingly unlikely, Randall joins a support group for visually impaired people and strikes up a relationship with lecturer, Wren Woods, played by Leah Sims.
Wren, alongside Solomon’s English Teacher, Mrs Buck, and writing mentor, Professor Parker, guides Solomon into becoming a man who can make decisions for himself and into considering accepting Christ in his life.
A heartwarming story of triumph over adversity with a bit of lacrosse mixed in for good measure, Upside is sure to keep your spirits up during lockdown!
Upside is not currently available to watch online although it was (and may still be) on American Netflix.
5. Keepers of the Game (2016)
Traditionally a game reserved for men, Keepers of the Game gives us an insight into what challenges a group of Native American girls face when forming a lacrosse team and attempting to become the first Native women’s team to win a Section Championship.
The girls attend Salmon River High in Fort Covington, New York State, just off the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory and want to prove to their community that lacrosse is a rightful part of their heritage and inheritance.
With more than just the championship on the line, the girls fight to blaze a new path for the next generation of Native women, while still honoring their people's tradition in a changing world.
In a list of films that seem to focus a lot on men’s lacrosse, Keepers of the Game is an important film that highlights just how difficult it is for Native American women to break through in their traditional game and what obstacles they have to overcome within their own communities to prove they have a right to play.
Keepers of the Game is currently available to buy on Apple iTunes and Google Play.
HONOURABLE MENTION - Mean Girls (2004)
Just like in Part 1, we thought we’d give you a bonus film to watch that contains some semblance of lacrosse but isn’t a ‘proper’ lacrosse film.
2004’s Mean Girls is about the teenager, Cady Heron, played by Lindsay Lohan (remember her?), who was educated in Africa by her scientist parents but moves to the suburbs of Illinois.
Cady finally gets to experience regular school and gets a quick primer on the cruel, tacit laws of popularity that divide her fellow students into tightly knit cliques.
She unwittingly finds herself in the good graces of an elite group of cool students dubbed "the Plastics," but Cady soon realizes how her shallow group of new friends earned this nickname.
A classic American teen comedy film that launched the careers of Rachel McAdams, Lizzy Kaplan, Jonathan Bennett, and Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls has become a cult classic and it’s very last scene contains our favourite sport, lacrosse!
Mean Girls is currently available to watch online HERE.
And there you have it: another list of films to satiate your lacrosse appetite during the current crisis.
Will this series get a third instalment? And if it does, will the outcome be Toy Story 3 or The Godfather: Part III.
You’ll have to wait and see.
So until then, stay safe, stay at home, and happy laxxing!