Steel Warriors | Short Film of the Day

Short Film of the Day April 11, 2021

Steel Warriors

By Nick Jay with 7.3

documentary · Short Films · english

One of the most appealing characteristics of art is to take something raw and aggressive and channel it into something beautiful and constructive. This assertion forms the backbone of the film, not for its own efforts to achieve this positive outcome, but due to the compelling account it offers of an initiative that does precisely the same.

Steel Warriors is the documentation of the eponymous charity which encourages people to hand over their knives which are then recycled, followed by using the resultant steel to make outdoor gyms. Through the voices that the narrative brings in, these efforts, and the gyms they have led to, acquire an artistic appeal of their own, the status of an exalted piece of art itself. Further, a sense of community is conjured as the structures are then used for calisthenics, and the gravity-defying performances they eventually lead to.

The film is especially beautiful in the quiet, but powerful notions of hope it brings to life by using experiences of those who overcame obstacles to train themselves in these movements of the body, and in the process, allowed the activity to become the very tool that helped them triumph over those obstacles. The narrative remains crisp with the brevity being a strong characteristic, along with an elegant edit, lovely visuals, and the simple, lucid manner in which all of the intentions are tied together in the final product.
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