Sydney Freeland’s “Rez Ball” is the perfect crowd-pleaser, blending drama, comedy and the excitement of competitive basketball into a slick and heartfelt package. Ten years after her Sundance debut “Drunktown’s Finest,” the writer-directed returns to her roots with this inspiring story of a Native high school basketball team trying to make it all the way to the championship. Like her first film, “Rez Ball” takes place on a Navajo reservation in New Mexico where opportunities are scarce and morale is low. Freeland and co-writer Sterlin Harjo deftly blend the often difficult truths of life on the reservation with an optimistic tone rooted in the continued resilience of the Navajo people.
Made in collaboration with the Navajo Nation Government on location in New Mexico, “Rez Ball” takes the time to show viewers the beauty of the land and its people. The film, based on author Michael Powell’s nonfiction sports novel “Canyon Dreams: A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation,” centers on Jimmy Holiday (played by newcomer Kauchani Bratt), who becomes captain of his high school basketball team — the Chuska Warriors — and tries to lead them to victory. But after the tragic death of his best friend and teammate Nataanii (Kusem Goodwind), Jimmy’s spirits are low. Complicating matters is his mother Gloria (Julia Jones), who struggles with alcoholism and takes out her frustration with life on her son. Still, Jimmy’s coach Heather (Jessica Matten) believes in his ability to lead, recruiting Benny Begay (Ernest David Tsosie) as assistant coach to help the team use their Native roots to work together better on the court. Once they stop playing regular basketball and start playing “rez ball,” they have a fighting chance.
Coach Heather and Jimmy’s mother Gloria are like two sides of the same coin: both were Warriors in high school and had a chance to go pro, but Gloria walked away from basketball while Heather can’t seem to quit it. She has to believe that there’s a future for the boys on the team, and for herself as well. Stuck between the two, Jimmy must decide if he wants to risk failure or settle into defeat. His mother believes that losing is inevitable, and that they were born with it in their blood. Logically, Jimmy knows that can’t be true, but with Nataanii gone it’s hard to be optimistic. Like many in their community, Nataanii took his own life, as he was unable to cope with the trauma of losing his sister and mother years earlier. Everyone on the reservation seems to have something they’re trying to get over, like a generational weight on their shoulders. Though Gloria doesn’t mean to step on her son’s dreams, she can’t bring herself to encourage him. Instead of villainizing Gloria, “Rez Ball” portrays her as a woman beaten down by life trying to figure out how to get her footing in the world again. As her son comes of age, Gloria slowly comes into her own as a parent.
The best scenes in “Rez Ball” are about teamwork. In one fun set piece, the Warriors are tasked with herding sheep on a ranch as their coaches look on with amusement. On the court, Jimmy and his teammates try to let everything go and live in the moment. The playful and kinetic basketball scenes are plentiful in “Rez Ball,” with its young Native actors having a lot of fun on the court. In another standout sequence, the boys take on the girls team – who pummel them with insults along with their skills – and yell in disbelief as they lose. Though it’s a glass battle of the sexes, there’s something so joyful about seeing a group of Native girls take up space on the court, reminding us that it’s not all about the boys; the girls have an underdog story of their own, we just haven’t seen it yet.
As the film goes on, the games become more and more intense, slowly building to the final showdown between the Warriors and their biggest rivals, a pointedly white-dominated team from Santa Fe. Basketball is a naturally cinematic sport and cinematographer Kira Kelly keeps the focus on the players and their efforts to work together, using the Navajo language to communicate with each other so the rival teams don’t catch on to their strategy. By reclaiming their culture, the team feels a renewed sense of purpose and pride in who they are and where they came from. Soon, it’s about more than just winning – these boys want to give their community something to believe in.
Maintaining a feel-good tone without becoming saccharine, “Rez Ball” is a charmer with enough of an edge to keep viewers on their toes. Matten is a compelling coach figure, with both kind energy and a steely sense of determination. Newcomer Bratt is funny and charming, revealing more and more charisma every scene. He even gets a little love story that weaves in nicely with the themes of cultural connection and embracing vulnerability as a form of strength. Freeland excels at getting realistic performances from her young actors, whose rawness lends to the inspiring feelings invoked by the film. It’s hard to be cynical watching all these talented young men play around on and off the court. “Rez Ball” is the kind of film that makes one optimistic about the future, even if only for the length of a game.
Grade: B+
“Rez Ball” premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. It will be available to stream on Netflix starting Friday, September 27.
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