Reason One: This film features the sport of rowing, so come relive some of the excitement of being a neighbor of Boothbay Harbor’s own Elle Logan, the first American rower to win a gold medal in three consecutive Olympics, a three-time Olympic champion, and three-time world champion. She and her team, the Women’s 8, won Olympic rowing gold in Beijing in 2008, London in 2012, and 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Logan was also named Pac-12 Rower of the Century in 2016. Ellie’s family are locals and we all take great pride in her achievements. 

Reason Two: “The Boys in The Boat” will rev up your heartbeat with its athletic rowing scenes. Physiologists say that the 2,000-meter race extracts as much physical toll as playing back-to-back basketball games, but in the span of just six minutes. It requires a tremendous level of strength, stamina, and skill and calls on every major muscle group. Everyone in our community involved in or interested in sports shouldn’t miss the opportunity to be inspired by such athleticism and team spirit. 

Reason Three: The movie, lovingly directed by George Clooney, is based on the 2013 bestselling nonfiction book ”The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown. Just this month, PBS’s American Experience also aired the documentary “The Boys of ‘36” based on the same events: the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Clooney’s film enlivens this true account of events with its portrayal of camaraderie, triumph, and love. Here is a link to a revealing PBS news interview with Clooney and author Brown: https://www.pbs.org/video/george-clooney-1703195555/. 

Reason Four: Though it highlights the sport of rowing, “The Boys in The Boat” also realistically sets the story within its historical context of the Great Depression in the U.S. and of an Olympics set in Fascist Germany under Adolph Hitler. The movie’s depiction of the era, its hardships and frightening events, helps us see our history in an encouraging way. 

Reason Five: Our local schools were so excited by the release of this film that several high school and middle school classes have incorporated reading the book and seeing the movie into their curriculum. Two special screenings of the film are scheduled for the school groups. BRES Principal Shawna Kurr said that she read the book for a leadership class in her doctoral program and knows what an inspiration it will be to students. 

Come be inspired, thrilled with competitive spirit, heartened by friendship and love, and enjoy this terrific movie on the big screen!

“The Boys in the Boat,” rated PG-13 has a runtime of 2 hours and 4 minutes, opens at Harbor Theater on Friday, Jan. 26, Saturday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 28, 2 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2 p.m. (OCAP), and closes on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 7 p.m.