Rank
Directed by: John Hyams

Human beings have been known to do a lot of crazy things for fame and fortune, but there are few competitive sports I’ve seen in my life that come close to the reality of professional bull-riding. If you’re like me, then your knowledge of bull-riders and their culture is probably limited to things you’ve heard or seen on TV, but you may not be fully aware of the scale of abuse that the athletes endure… nor the prizes that are at stake. The PBR World Finals take place every year in Las Vegas. 45 riders will compete, most perpetually nursing painful injuries, and in the end one winner will take home $1 million.

Filmmaker John Hyams attempts to capture this high risk, high reward competition in his IFC documentary Rank. Hyams previously tackled an equally macho and punishing sport in the film The Smashing Machine, about the life of UFC fighter Mark Kerr. Rank is not as harrowing as The Smashing Machine, nor does it get as personal, which makes it a slightly less effective film. But this is still a fascinating and incisive documentary in its own right.

The movie centers around the 2004 World Finals and the top 3 riders: Adriano Moraes, Justin McBride, and Mike Lee. We meet their families and learn implicitly that they are all born into the culture, but we also see the stress and emotional toll that it takes on their loved ones. There is a certain feeling of sadness running throughout; an unspoken wistfulness, and also a reluctance to question such a celebrated tradition. The bleak, mesmerizing score provided by The Unseen Hand gives even more impact to the images we are seeing.

Rank also delves into other, less glamorous, corners of the bull-riding world such as the breeders, who make a living by engineering the meanest bulls possible, and the bull fighters, who help protect the riders after they are bucked off an animal. The people we meet along the way aren’t necessarily caricatures, but they certainly play to many Southern U.S. stereotypes. Alas, we don’t really get to meet any wacky hardcore fans, which is probably for the best.

As the tension builds, the championship all comes down to the final round and an unpredictable finale. Along the way there are plenty of brutal falls and sickening injuries, reminding us that although a ride lasts only seconds, these athletes are putting their lives on the line every time. Which leads me back to the question that I kept asking myself all along: is it really worth it?

This was the only major problem I had with this film, the fact that some of the hardest questions about the sport don’t ever get asked, let alone answered. There’s definitely a bit of a culture shock at work here, and for outsiders it may be difficult to understand the appeal of bull-riding. Hyams makes little effort to bridge the gap, which could be considered either an oversight or simply objective filmmaking. It’s hard to say if Hyams himself is a fan of bull-riding, but I can’t see many viewers thinking the movie paints the sport in a particularly positive light.

That said, Rank did explore a pasttime that I’ve never truly understood, and had me interested (though not completely riveted) for the entire duration. It’s artfully shot, and provides a portrait of some determined competitors who have more hair on their chest than I probably ever will. Definitely worth checking out. — Sean

Rank premieres on IFC on Monday October 9th, 2006.

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