The Hockey News’s Ken Campbell penned an article about The Russian Five documentary, and Campbell reports that the film went over particularly well with its target audience:
Moments after The Russian Five documentary film debuted at a film festival in Detroit in April, director Joshua Riehl was backstage preparing to appear on a Q&A panel when he was approached by former Detroit Red Wing Darren McCarty, who had tears rolling down his face. “The first thing he said to me was, ‘Brother, you captured it,’ ” Riehl said. “ ‘You captured what it felt like to be in that locker room.’ For someone who was in that locker room to give his stamp of approval meant a lot. The emotion was real. It wasn’t fake. Nothing is fake about Darren McCarty.”
That was Riehl’s second favorite moment from the night the movie debuted at the Freep Film Festival three months ago. The first was when Riehl realized that Vladimir Konstantinov was in the audience. That’s because Konstantinov was the main inspiration behind The Russian Five, which chronicles the Detroit Red Wings dynasty through the eyes of Konstantinov, Sergei Fedorov, Igor Larionov, Slava Fetisov and Vyacheslav Kozlov from the moment Konstantinov and Fedorov were part of the best single-team draft in NHL history in 1989 to the back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997 and ’98 and the limousine accident that robbed Konstantinov of his career and left him permanently disabled.
Continued, and FYI:
Riehl said the film has been seen now by about 4,500 people, with the next showing at a film festival in Traverse City in August. (Unfortunately, the Toronto International Film Festival passed on it, largely because it now shows only world premiers.) But Riehl has been encouraged by the feedback he has received on it to this point. And he said if he makes another hockey film, he would like to document McCarty’s life journey.
“The pain that he suffered during his hockey career drove him to alcohol abuse and drug addiction,” Riehl said. “But he found something that works for him and he’s been sober for two years. I feel like that guy has an awesome redemption story in there somewhere.”
I know I said this, but THIS IS A MUST SEE. If you have not, do it if you can. Amazing and fun.
I saw the Premier at the Detroit Film Theater and stayed after to listen the Director and others talk about the project. I would love for them to do a Doc on Darren McCarty. I meet him a few times and he is so down to earth and funny as hell. I am glad he is talking so freely about Cannabis and how it help him off drugs and alcohol. Good for him. Go Darren!
Thanks, Dog.
I haven’t had a chance to see it out on the east coast,
but hope to.
These guys brought us so much joy and pride.
If McCarty can be healthy and happy this way,
it’s a relief. The highs (of playing and winning) must
be so high – how do you move on and deal with what comes after, when you’ve got brain chemistry/health issues as it is?
No stigma. No shame. No struggling and hiding in the shadows with dangerous addictions. I’m sure cannabis is the last thing some athletes want in their lives – we’re all different. But there’s little doubt at this point that it’s helped a lot of people, from epilepsy to PTSD, chronic injuries from grinding work.
Seems a far better way than depending on booze or addictive pills, as long as you’re in the open and have got support.