This documentary, written and directed by Steve Scearcy, is an amazing watch, featuring vivid scenes of the Iditarod, an Alaskan dog sled race, led by a musher, a person who guides the dogs and the race. The inside stories and interviews combined with the fantastic race footage, make this a totally enthralling documentary to view.
Largely seen through the eyes of Bridgett Watkins, a musher, she endured the hardships of racing and sustained a serious injury. Yet her passion is unparalleled as it becomes obvious that she is fiercely loyal to her dog team. She fondly mentions her dog Grizz, who has red, fluffy hair with one blue eye and one brown one. She adds that Pee Wee is all black and “super rambunctious.”
The Iditarod is known as the “Super Bowl” for mushers, and the one-thousand-mile race runs over a period of several days. The mushers and dogs deal with frigid temperatures and sometimes unknown surprises, including injuries.
One of the fascinating dangers that is shared up front in the documentary is this: moose will sometimes unexpectedly show up, and run toward the musher and the dogs, with destruction in mind. Bridgett shares that this is exactly what happened. She only had a small pistol with her and shooting at the moose did no good. Several dogs were attacked and bloodied, and one of them did not survive. The moose was nearly seven feet tall and weighed approximately a thousand pounds. The dogs, as loyal to Bridgett as she was to them, saved her life, fighting against the moose to stop it from attacking Bridgett.
Jerry Makarak, of the Chugach tribe, makes this astute comment: “Our people have a saying – some dangers give no warning. It’s true.” Bridgett laments in the documentary that the moose stood on top of her dogs that she “had raised from babies.” She said they trusted her with their lives and in this moment she felt helpless. “There was nothing I could do.” She said she screamed, cried, and prayed. Chris Jones showed up to try to help her, and later following several surgeries for the dogs and medications, Bridgett found a way to move forward. Her husband Scotty was a big help to her and later asked if she wanted to run the next race. As she spent time with her dogs, she looked at Razz and simply said, “We’re going to do it.” “She’s a very determined lady,” said Scotty.
Bridgett spots another moose in one scene and she comments that she’s an independent woman on the outside, but inside she was barely holding it together. But her determination to race again with her dogs says a lot about the human spirit, which is one of the highlights of this incredible documentary. The goal is to race from Willow, Alaska to Nome, Alaska in the wilderness, while fighting off the chilly temperatures and high winds. Trackers can check their phones and media devices to follow the race and Scotty said he was up between 2 a.m. until the morning hours following his wife’s progress.
Gerhardt Thiart becomes the first South African musher in the Iditarod, and he befriends Bridgett. Although the documentary features some real intense and high-pressure moments, in a funny scene when he meets Bridgett, she talks to him as if she’s an expert. Then he learns that at the time she was going to run her very first race. “That’s an experienced rookie!” he said to himself. Bridgett and Gerhardt wind up running the White Mountain race together. Gerhardt sustains an injury in one sequence and Bridgett comes to his aid.
The perseverance these mushers show is incredible. In one scene the strong wind knocks Bridgett down and she’s injured. Scotty, emotional, says seeing his wife, an E.R. nurse, frantic and scared, made him emotional. On top of the roller coaster ride of emotions, Bridgett learns bad news on the trail.
We won’t give the ending of this remarkable documentary away, but it is a story of faith, triumph, and of never giving up. And it is important to remember the finish line is always within reach. Bridgett’s loyalty to her dogs, such as Razz and Commando, is complimented by their loyalty to her.
Content Analysis: The documentary features comments about prayer, and Bridgett acknowledges God and during the end credits Joshua 1:9 is displayed on screen: “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithsoever thou goest.” The documentary does a good job in showing people stepping in and helping one another and the loyalty of a husband and a woman to her dog team.
Think About It: Discussion points can be about standing with a person as they pursue their dreams, treating dogs and pets with respect, and the importance of perseverance.
The Dove Take: This remarkable documentary is inspiring to never give up on one’s dreams!
