I will see just about any documentary that has to do with Coney Island and its unique history, and Bending Steel follows a middle-aged 5’7″ man named Chris Schoeck who is committed to reviving the old time strongman tradition. You know, the circus strongmen in leopard leotards who bent steel nails and horseshoes into pretzels. Though Chris might not look the part, he’s committed to the training.
Nonetheless, Chis is a loner and is not into becoming an olde time strongman for the showmanship. At first he’s the type of socially awkward person who shouts at you as he fidgets instead of talking to you. Despite his dedication to his training, Chris is anxious about appearing in front of a crowd. When he makes his first public performance at an open mic night at The Back Fence (a bar on New York’s Bleecker Street), Chris is jerky, awkward and oddly aggressive toward the audience.
Yet like any old art form that has been dying out, Chris finds himself among a small group of practitioners who are committed to keeping that performance art alive. There is a fraternity of strongmen that stretches back over a hundred years, kept alive by Slim the Hammerman, a seventy-something strongman who serves as a crusty old master, like Mick in Rocky, offering Chris encouragement as Chris’ browses Hammerman’s garage, a strongman museum. Chris also follows the lead of his mentor, Chris “Hairculese” Rider, the type of guy who can pound nails into wood with his bare hands and pull a pick-up truck full of strongmen with his braids. Rider believes in Chris’ ability, but he is concerned about Chris’ performing abilities.
Still, as Chris asks, “What’s Coney Island without a strongman?” He is not only committed to his goal of not only performing onstage at Coney Island in August 2011, but also performing a feat of strength that he has been unable to do before in front of a live crowd. He not only faces that challenge, but faces the challenge of his skeptical parents thinking that their middle-aged son is wasting his time.
Bending Steel ultimately follows the small-stakes to viewers but big-stakes to the subjects zero-to-hero storyline that has been the focus of so many documentaries (such as King of Kong). Still, Chris’ transformation is astounding, as are his routines — including his post-training cigar, like a post-coital cigarette (after all, he does say, “I get out of bending this steel what most people get out of personal relationships.”)
There are some issues with the structure of the documentary. We never find out exactly how Chris got initially interested in bending steel, and I think director Dave Carroll could have done more to focus on the history and legacy of old time strongmen to give Chris’ struggle even more weight. Naturally the content won’t be interesting to everyone, but anyone looking for a classic underdog story will find a great one in Bending Steel.
Rating: A fascinating documentary that fits in the vein of people competing in what fulfills their offbeat dreams (8/10).
Tribeca Film Festival 2013 Screenings:
April 21 10:30 PM Chelsea Clearview Cinema
April 24 3:00 PM Chelsea Clearview Cinema
Aprul 27 10:30 PM Chelsea Clearview Cinema
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