Crutch movie review by Movie Review Mom

MOVIE TITLE: Crutch

RATING: R for language

LENGTH: 1 hour, 37 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

For most of my life, I’ve been a dancer. As a little girl, I took lessons in jazz, tap, and ballet. Once in high school, I danced with a drill team, and then in college, I was invited to join the international, award-winning ballroom dance team at BYU. I loved dancing and am sad that I don’t have the time or body to do much of it anymore nowadays.

THIS is a dancer you’ve never seen before. Bill Shannon has a rare disease called Legg-Calve-Perthesis, which affects his hips, requiring him to walk with crutches. But walking is not the only thing he does with crutches. He dances. He skateboards. He breakdances. He inspires!

This inspiring documentary is co-directed/produced by Sachi Cunningham and Vayabobo (Chandler Evans). You can watch it as part of the DOC NYC’s Film Festival this week! For the first time ever, the film festival will be available online across the United States!

In the 30^th Anniversary year of the Americans with Disabilities Act, this is a great film to watch to celebrate the human spirit and unlimited human potential.

Far more than a chronological survey of one person’s life and achievements, CRUTCH does so much more: the film shatters conventional notions of disability; it challenges the viewers to abandon conventional ideas of what “ability” means, and crosses over from artistry—in skate and dance and performance art—to education on issues of key cultural and political relevance.

The directors said, “In 2000, we were initially drawn to Bill Shannon because of his unique style of dancing and skateboarding on crutches. He was, and still is, a one-of-kind. No one in the world dances and skates like he does. As filmmakers who enjoy the movements and aesthetics of surfing and capoeira, we were quick to appreciate his fluidity and grace. But, from the beginning, we knew that our film could not be another ‘triumph over adversity’ narrative. Bill was adamant about that. He had absolutely no interest in being the subject of what the disability community calls ‘inspiration porn.’

Two decades in the making and employing a kinetic tapestry of 8mm film from the ’70s, Hi-8 and VHS tapes from the ’80s, mini-DV tapes from the ’90s, and stunning HD footage from the 2000s, CRUTCH documents Bill’s extraordinary life’s story: the history of Bill’s medical odyssey, his struggles with chronic pain, the evolution of his crutch dancing and skating, his rise to become a world-renowned performance artist, and his transformation from an angry skate punk to an international hero.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Profanity and lots of F-bombs
Smoking, drugs
A young man gets arrested for a crime
A man flips the bird.

THEMES:

“We can do better as human beings.” – Ben Shannon
“I want to be responsible for my own fate.” – Bill Shannon
Determination
Hope
Disability
Assumptions
Inspiration

THINGS I LIKED:

CRUTCH takes the audience on a journey that literally spans the entire globe. The documentary features the abandoned Pittsburgh steel mills of Bill’s childhood, the underground NYC breakdance battles of his twenties; his groundbreaking performances in Sydney, Quebec, Madrid, Helsinki, Moscow, London, Paris, Tokyo, and more.
Bill’s hip might be bad, but his hop is spectacular!
It was so interesting to learn about his experience with Cirque du Soleil in the Varekai show back in 2003. He was commissioned to create two of the performance pieces in the amazing show. One of his fellow Cirque performers, Fladimir Ignatenkov, said this about him: “Bill comes from a different world, does not move like I see before — not sport, not acrobatic, not nothing I see before.”
Not only can Bill do the incredible moves, but he has had to name them because they never existed before.
I figured it would just be a basic story in chronological order, but it’s actually more than that. There are interviews from experts that analyze the psychology behind how people react to disabilities and Bill Shannon’s performance art. I thought the discussion of perception and interpretation of performance was really interesting. For example, the people on the street thought they were seeing a certain kind of performance, but those watching from windows up above in the surrounding buildings were seeing the full story. The bus performance art was super creative. I loved it.
Despite his potty mouth, Bill Shannon has been a tremendous role model of hope and perseverance for kids with disabilities at the Special Needs Legg-Calvé-Perthes camp in Florida sponsored by the Rotary organization.
Because of Bill Shannon’s special connection to New York City, this film is a perfect addition to this year’s DOC NYC’s Film Festival this week!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Because kids with disabilities can be so inspired by Bill Shannon, it was disappointing that there were so many F-bombs in the film.
I would like to have learned more about where Bill Shannon is now, what he’s up to, and how we can support his art.

INTERESTING LINES:

“Dancing is in your head. No matter how healthy you are, once you get it through your head that your body is limited, that dancing is in your mind and not in your body, you’re pretty much free as a dancer.” – Bill Shannon
“Disability always demands a story. Non-disabled people are never required to give an account of themselves in the same way.” – Woman being interviewed