Fridae

Manny Pacquiao may be the best boxer of the decade, but Muhammad Ali is still “The Greatest”. Muhammad Ali is also fighting a losing battle against Parkinson’s disease. In the third decade of his retirement, the boxer is in the long dark twilight of his life, having lost his ability to speak, is mostly confined to a wheelchair, and is cared for by a team of physiotherapists. Perhaps it is the combination of Ali’s legendary prowess and his prolonged fading that has inspired so many documentaries about the boxer – including this one.

Facing Ali takes a different tack from previous documentaries made about Muhammad Ali, which had either focussed on single fights in his career (When We Were Kings) or his youthful years (AKA Cassius Clay). Here, the Muhammad Ali story is narrated by 10 of his greatest opponents in the ring, in roughly chronological order.

There’s nothing about his childhood and precious little about putting the man in his social, historical, and cultural context – Facing Ali is what some in the historical profession would call a “career biography”, where the man is defined by his actions and decisions as a man, taken in pursuit of his chosen calling. And what is a boxer’s career but a collection of opponents? It is these opponents who give meaning to Muhammad Ali as they remember their professional engagements with him. As much as we learn about these opponents, it is through them that we learn about the greatness of the boxer, his fighting spirit, his spirituality and determination, and even his dark side.

From George Foreman to George Chuvalo to Joe Frazier, a motley crew of aged friends and foes – knights and former criminals alike gather to tell impressive and engaging stories of the man. Their former glories are remembered and re-enacted and even brought back to life through stock footage. It’s a little like one of those wakes where the best pals start an hours-long round-robin telling tales about the man.

For the duration of the film, you will forget that Muhammad Ali is this silent man in a wheelchair. You will learn why he is The Greatest, and how his opponents too were great.