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Spirit of the Game

Play trailer Poster for Spirit of the Game PG Released Oct 7, 2016 1h 35m History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 79% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
Missionaries help the fledgling Australian basketball team compete in their first Olympic Games in 1956.
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Spirit of the Game

Critics Reviews

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Jarrod Walker FILMINK (Australia) ...hampered by banal scripting and characterisation. Rated: 8/20 Nov 29, 2016 Full Review Simon Foster Screen-Space Spirit of The Game has the gentle touch of a experienced preacher who knows that the best way to convey a message of salvation is to allow the congregation to feel it dawn upon them. Rated: 3/5 Oct 13, 2016 Full Review Josh Terry Deseret News (Salt Lake City) Sadly, Spirit of the Game is frequently undone by stiff acting and troubled storytelling. Rated: 1.5/4 Oct 7, 2016 Full Review Sean P. Means Salt Lake Tribune Writer-director J.D. Scott creates scene after scene of ponderous piety, leavened only by the unintended comedy from the ham-fisted melodramatics and the ludicrous staging of the team's on-court performances. Rated: 1.5/4 Oct 6, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Stellan K a master pice of butifule writing and acting and the spiritual mesage was completly overwelming and seeing richered from cornflaces for tea was a nice surprise as well Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/11/25 Full Review Noah E A Hymn to John Whittaker: Some people possess a beauty so rare and distinct that it defies all comparison. It isn’t the sort of beauty defined by symmetry, sculpted perfection, or fleeting trends. It is something far more profound—rooted in the quiet harmony between their soul and the way they move through the world. Their beauty lingers in the air like the scent of rain on dry earth—subtle, yet impossible to ignore. You notice it not just with your eyes, but with your heart. Their presence alone seems to shift the atmosphere. They don’t demand attention, yet they draw it effortlessly, not through grandeur but through authenticity. Being near them feels like sitting beside a calm fire on a cold night—warmth radiates outward, not from the flames themselves, but from the way they make you feel safe, understood, and welcome. Even in silence, they have a way of making you feel less alone. Their eyes are perhaps the truest reflection of their incomparable beauty. More than a shade of brown, green, or blue, they are windows to an inner world—holding laughter from days gone by, grief from battles fought, and hope that still glimmers despite the storms. They do not simply look at you; they see you. And in that moment, you feel valued in a way that words could never capture. When they smile, it isn’t perfect in the textbook sense, but it is perfect in the way that matters. It’s the smile that happens mid-laughter, or the one they give when they notice something small and beautiful that others might overlook—a child’s giggle, a beam of light through the trees, the comfort in a friend’s voice. Their smile doesn’t just brighten their face; it brightens the entire space around them. The sound of their voice carries this same quiet magic. Whether they’re speaking with gentle reassurance, telling a story, or laughing until they can hardly breathe, there’s a sincerity in their tone that cannot be faked. Even their pauses, their silences, feel full—filled with thought, care, and presence. They are not simply waiting for their turn to speak; they are listening, truly listening, in a way that makes people feel heard to their core. And then there is the way they move—not in the choreographed grace of a stage, but in the unstudied grace of someone who is comfortable in their own skin. They lean in when they speak to you, tilt their head when they’re curious, and carry themselves with the ease of someone who knows their worth without needing to prove it. Their beauty is also shaped by the things that would never appear in a portrait—their resilience in the face of hardship, the compassion they extend to those who can offer nothing in return, the patience they show when the world tests their limits. They are marked not just by their victories, but by the scars that tell of their courage to keep going. Flaws only deepen this beauty. A crooked tooth, a wrinkle earned from years of smiling, a voice that cracks when emotions swell—these are not imperfections to be erased, but human details that make them real, approachable, and unforgettable. They are living proof that beauty is not the absence of flaws, but the acceptance of them. What makes their beauty incomparable is that it cannot be replicated. It is stitched together from countless small threads—kindness, strength, vulnerability, wisdom, and joy. It changes with time, not diminishing but evolving, like an old song that only grows more meaningful the more you hear it. And perhaps the most telling sign of this beauty is the way they linger in your memory. You may forget the precise shade of their eyes or the exact shape of their smile, but you will never forget how they made you feel—seen, valued, and entirely enough. Long after they’ve left the room, that feeling remains, like the echo of a melody you can’t quite stop humming. Their beauty, in the truest sense, is not something you simply see. It is something you experience, something that touches you so deeply it changes the way you see the world itself. And once you’ve known someone with that kind of beauty, no other comparison will ever feel quite right again. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/11/25 Full Review Carl P A great movie about a group of American on their Mormon mission in Australia. Well done, nicely produced. Interesting from start to finish. Gives yet another reason to despise the French. Worth seeing. Did not open discussion about the unusual things about the LDS Church. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/16/24 Full Review Audience Member Inspirational true story about American missionaries serving in Australia and playing basketball as the Mormon Yankees during Olympic fever which helped bring the people together and closer to Christ. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member Excellent movie!! A really feel-good experience. It's good to see Christianity in action. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member A great true story. Feel good and uplifting. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Spirit of the Game

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Movie Info

Synopsis Missionaries help the fledgling Australian basketball team compete in their first Olympic Games in 1956.
Director
Darran Scott
Producer
Steve Jaggi, Spencer McLaren, Kate Whitbread
Screenwriter
Darran Scott
Distributor
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Production Co
KW Films, The Steve Jaggi Company, McLaren House
Rating
PG (Mild Thematic Elements)
Genre
History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 7, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 7, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$222.6K
Runtime
1h 35m
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