Cinderella Man シンデレラ・マン

My husband wants to go see Cinderella Man one more time. Ummm, I'm not sure if Iwant to watch that one again. Last time I saw it, I felt as if I were punched all over my body. Yeah, I know, it's a boxing movie. What do I expect?!

James J. Braddock （Russell Crowe ）used to be a favorate next champion of heavy weight boxing, but as he breaks his right hand he starts losing badly. On early days of Depression, he was decended to earn just a few dollars once in a while on a dock work, just as many of his country men in general. When he and his family was at the very bottom point, his former manger offers him $250 to fight a heavy-weight rank 2 boxer.

During the era of Depression, when people were losing faith and hope, he fights with all of their dreams and hopes on his shoulder, and brings what they had almost lost back into their life. . . .Sounds compelling as a story. If I had seen it a dacade ago, when I myself was one of the highschool Athletes, I would probably have moved and cried by the entire story.

Don't take me wrong. I was touched by his deep love to his family which never had changed throughout good times and bad times. But I am so tired of the world like sports, for example, where all the glory and joy exist only as the other side of the coin, and the dark depression and suffering comes back in a single moment.

All the feeling of contentment and superiority, that come from competition or comparison, eventually end up in the inferiority complex, uncontentment, despite of all the effort you might make. Enough of that. I hope that one day, I would have absolute value, absolute joy inside me that I don't need to look at something else for validation. I want to say, 'this is ok, this is good as it is' even if it might look less.


夫が、今週末シンデレラ・マンをまた観に行こうよ、と言います。うげー、あの映画はもう勘弁してほしいよ。この間これを観て、私はもう、しばらく起き上がれないくらい体中にパンチを食らわされたような感じに、しばらくうなされたのです。ボクシングの映画だから当然と言えば当然だけど、もう、すごい暴力的（？スポーツは暴力とは言わないのかな？）なのね。

ラッセル・クロウ演じる、一度はいい線まで行っていたボクサー、ジェイムス・ブラドックが、恐慌でどん底まで落ち、生活保護を申請するまでになる。そこから這い上がって、それまでに２人をリング状で死なせている世界ヘビー級チャンピオンと対戦することになり。。。実話の映画化。

恐慌の、人々が希望を失いかけていた時代に、自分たちと同じどん底から這い上がった一人として当時の人々の夢と希望を実現したという、物語としては確かに感動を誘うものがあるとは思うよ。私も、体育会系で部活動に明け暮れていた１０数年前だったら、（ボクシングシーンは別として）もしかして感動に泣き崩れていたかも、とさえ思うもん。

どんな時も同じ愛情でひたむきに家族を思う姿には打たれたけれど、でも、スポーツのように、栄光と喜びのすぐ裏にある暗黒と苦しみ、勝つか負けるかで一瞬にして人生が変わってしまうような世界は、もういいよ、って心底この映画を観ながら思ってしまったよ。

スポーツに限らず、競争や比較からくる満足や優越感は、実は劣等感や、いくらやっても満足できない、足りない、という感覚の裏返しに過ぎないんだよね。もうそういうのは、欲しくない。たとえ何かと比較して劣っているように見えたとしても、それでいい、そのままがいい、と言えるような、絶対的な価値や歓びを、どんな時も自分の内に持てる日が、早く来るといいな。は～るよ来い、は～やく来い！