Small Title
When two Black athletes join a rag-tag basketball team led by their Apache captain and the coach's White son, the team must overcome rural adversities to play in the rigged state championship game against a big-city opponent.
Synopsis:
In an isolated mountain town in New Mexico (NM), 1959, the struggling basketball team, the DATIL MOUNTAIN LIONS, finds hope when two talented Black players from a segregated sawmill join the team. Led by SIMON BIGMAN, their Apache captain, and JARED SWEETS, the coach's nerdy son, they navigate racial tensions and personal animosities. They confront RILEY CROWN, a biased NM Director of Athletics, who is out to bring them down. Simon’s leadership vision serves as their constant North Star, while Jared transitions from wanting a championship for his father to finding his inner hero. The shrinking town of Datil needs this interracial basketball team to forge a strong community between the Black sawmill workers and the isolated White ranchers. Jared and FRED-D (Frederick Douglas), a Black athlete and scholar, form a lasting friendship that brings the two communities together. Simon, Jared, and Fred-D lead the team in finding common ground as they compete to win their district for the first time. Their turbulent journey continues to the NM state championship game against a formidable Albuquerque team. Furthermore, Riley Crown, whose talented son they face, rigs the game against Datil, which tests their unity and resilience. When Datil’s talented Black players unjustly foul out, the Albuquerque team roars back to tie the game. Jared comes off the bench and hits a long buzzer beater to win the game.
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Reviewer #1: Mountain Champs is a hopeful sports narrative.
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The story takes an unlikely group of students in a unique situation and gives them the opportunity to make a mark on the world. What's exciting about the story is that it doesn't focus on hate as the main motivating factor in the story. Instead, the narrative emphasizes progress and change, especially as the students grow together as a team. Another exciting aspect of the story is that it isn't easy for this new team to win. They might be talented and eager to be successful but the world around them is much more complicated than they realize.
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The plot of this feature is interesting and has a clear theme. Injustice is what pulls the audience into the story. The actions of young characters are what introduce hope into the story as well.
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Datil is a small town with a small school. While it is surprising that the school is so diverse and easily accepts a group of new students, that simply seems to be the norm for most Datil High characters. The basketball team is the most important element of the story.
Reviewer #2: Mountain Champs weave(s) social themes into a sports-driven story
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This project is a thoughtful and engaging exploration of race, identity, and community, set against the backdrop of a high school basketball team. Its central narrative, involving an Apache leader, two Black players, and the town's fight to preserve its school, offers a rich interplay of cultural dynamics and personal growth. The script’s core strength lies in its ability to weave social themes into a sports-driven story, creating moments of tension and unity that reflect broader societal issues. The characters are diverse and well-defined, each contributing to the unfolding drama in a meaningful way.
Reviewer #3: Mountain Champs offers a lot to like.
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Broadly speaking, this narrative is about different races, sexes, and classes mixing up in order to play together, and all the obstacles that come from that. It explores the rules, hypocrisies, and double standards of different subcultures, whereby even the cheerleader teams will be slinging mud. Moreover, it is not so much the games that are exciting. It’s the stories behind the game, and the people.
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Commendably, it’s about how characters are feeling before they play, and how they feel when they play. This is what matters, and why the audience cares whether they win, lose, or even show up. Another thing that’s great is how an announcer will set the stage over what’s happening and what’s at stake, and simply make everything clear. Plus, throughout, characters will talk about the game, how to play it, and sometimes metaphors and tricks are used. Indeed, sometimes they foul each other, sometimes they fight, and the stakes are always high, as the stakes are their futures.
Reviewer #4: "Mountain Champs" is an endearing take on true events
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<It takes> the reader on the thrilling and complex journey of the Datil High School basketball team. Right from the start, this story is one you want to root for. The passion is palpable, and though this is narrative ripe with conflict, there is a likability to the haphazard team that audiences will resonate with.
Reviewer #5: Mountain Champs is basically ... an underdog story
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... a tale in which someone or a group of someones must battle against a much more skilled or powerful foe. It also takes place within the sports world, here a small-town basketball team. This type of story can be very marketable. It is a trope that audiences tend to enjoy very much, and these sorts of movies are constantly being made.
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Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the story is the background. It takes place at a high school that only has 21 students. The town is very small and part of a logging/lumber community.
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In addition, there are some interesting ideas and potential for conflicts here. There is the idea of integrating the school and the basketball team. Also, there is the inclusion of females on the team, though they can't play in a game and can only be on the bench. Another good, potential conflict is the school needing to have 21 students to not be closed.
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There is also some conflict in the final scenes where there is the suggestion of cheating or rigging of the final state competition so that the small, working-class town can't win against the more prestigious school.