Image courtesy of the Women's Cycling Association |
Women hold up half the sky of equality and progression
After being asked by ESPN to reach for the gold at the 2008 Olympics, Bertine began learning about the challenges that keep more women from riding competitively. As she learned about Olympic cycling and women’s professional cycling, she realized that there was a story that needed to be told. From the history of women’s equality in sports to the present plight of women’s cycling, the film progresses from lesson to lesson.
"excessive number of stages"and "excessive individual stage distances" with "excessive climbing" for an "excessive duration." - UCI regarding the 1990 PowerBar International Women's Challenge bicycle race |
Want to see women compete in the Tour de France? Check out the Le Tour Entier |
Sit up attentively
While the film is about supporting the full spectrum of women’s cycling, there’s definitely a greater focus on the traditional road races with just a few scenes go to addressing some other disciplines. The overall cinematography is good, but some of the interviews were clearly done earlier and were a bit rough. These few scenes do distract a bit from the story, but there are not too many to really bring down the film.
Music was donated from Brother Dege, Marla Guloien, and Cathy Rivers. Quite frankly, none of the music was memorable. On the upside, none of the music took away from the film either. However, the sound effects for censorship - cha ching - are definitely a comical and obvious poke at the disparity in money for men’s versus women’s cycling.
Overall, the film is worth checking out as it makes a compelling argument against the status quo that keeps women from competing at the same level as their male counterparts in cycling sports. The rather damning collection of interviews from all sides encourages viewers to get behind the movement to change things. Bertine and company are continuing to promote the film at various film festivals and are looking to do screenings at a theater near you. “Half the Road” is slated to be available on DVD in June. For more information, check out HalftheRoad.com.
Tags: cycling, documentary, Half the Road, Kathryn Bertine, movie review, professional sports, UCI
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