Zion

(spoiler free)

Born without legs, Zion Clark was given up for adoption by his birth mother and as a result spent his childhood in foster care. ‘Zion’ is a new Netflix Original documentary short film which paints a portrait of this young man’s life and his involvement with his schools wrestling team, the Massillon Tigers.

In only eleven minutes the film touches on so many aspects of Zion’s life; his childhood, his physical condition and his sport. It could have easily expanded on each of these elements making for a longer film but despite this it includes them all without feeling overcrowded or rushed. ‘Zion’ showcases a fascinating and brilliant outlook on disability and in particular for Zion’s experience and this is even before the film moves its spotlight onto his sport. Some information regarding the implications and reactions to Zion’s involvement in wrestling would have been a nice addition to the documentary. Some of the questions that the film might raise with audiences could have been answered if some time was spent on this area. Nonetheless without this it still remains a succinct and engaging short film. 

The film does feel very stylish and potentially a little manufactured, almost like a music video or an advertisement featuring a huge sports star. There is real footage included but much of the content has been recorded especially for the purpose of this film. However, the film aims to paint a portrait of Zion and his life so far and this short does just that through these recordings in an extremely professional manner, resulting in an incredibly polished finished product. As to be expected this film is inspiring to say the least. To see what Zion has achieved with the poor hand life dealt him should be a wake up call to how lucky many of the viewers watching the film will be and it’s a delight to see him living his life in such a fulfilling way.

It’s good to see Netflix creating and showcasing content such as this. Short films and documentaries often get missed amongst the larger releases and there are so many inspirational stories like Zion’s which should be told. At only eleven minutes long ‘Zion’ requires minimal effort from its audiences and rewards them with an insight into a remarkable young man and his life thus far. Instead of wasting half an hour choosing between the onslaught of rom-coms and trashy horrors the streaming platform has to offer stick ‘Zion’ on and listen to a story that’s worth telling.

Written by Hamish Calvert

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Rating – 8/10

Question: What is your favourite kind of documentary film?
(Leave your answers in the comments section below!)

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