I finally got to see this movie again after years. I remember it from childhood, a favorite of my mother.
This movie is a wonderful example of the Human Spirit despite adversity. David's brother Marcus visits home for the first time in years. Their father died of a brain aneurysm and Marcus was outraged at his mothers behavior during the time. David a bit more sympathetic to his mother knowing she just couldn't deal with it. It's on this visit that Mrs. Sommers expresses concerns that she thinks David has the same disease. Marcus takes David back to Madison, WI where he lives and works, to run some tests on him.
Despite Marcus and David being on decent terms you can see a clashing of heads when it comes to certain issues, mostly from lack of understanding of one another. Marcus pushes David to try harder out of love, of course David doesn't see it as such. We find out that David is actually free of the disease that killed his father, however, an overheard conversation between Marcus and a friend at the testing center leads David to believe that he's a time bomb waiting to go off. He decides he can deal with death, and takes up Marcus' offer to do the "Hell of the West" cycling race with him in Colorado.
Along the way David finds love, a courage and strength within himself he didn't know was there, and new understanding for his brother. It's the crashing news that Marcus is actually the one who's ill, and the disease begins kicking in during the cycling race that finally pushes David into being all he can be.
A bit sad and intense at times it's still a terrific and inspiring movie to watch. It also gives a new outlook on the world of Bicycle racing that most people will never know or see first hand. I give it a 9/10.
This movie is a wonderful example of the Human Spirit despite adversity. David's brother Marcus visits home for the first time in years. Their father died of a brain aneurysm and Marcus was outraged at his mothers behavior during the time. David a bit more sympathetic to his mother knowing she just couldn't deal with it. It's on this visit that Mrs. Sommers expresses concerns that she thinks David has the same disease. Marcus takes David back to Madison, WI where he lives and works, to run some tests on him.
Despite Marcus and David being on decent terms you can see a clashing of heads when it comes to certain issues, mostly from lack of understanding of one another. Marcus pushes David to try harder out of love, of course David doesn't see it as such. We find out that David is actually free of the disease that killed his father, however, an overheard conversation between Marcus and a friend at the testing center leads David to believe that he's a time bomb waiting to go off. He decides he can deal with death, and takes up Marcus' offer to do the "Hell of the West" cycling race with him in Colorado.
Along the way David finds love, a courage and strength within himself he didn't know was there, and new understanding for his brother. It's the crashing news that Marcus is actually the one who's ill, and the disease begins kicking in during the cycling race that finally pushes David into being all he can be.
A bit sad and intense at times it's still a terrific and inspiring movie to watch. It also gives a new outlook on the world of Bicycle racing that most people will never know or see first hand. I give it a 9/10.