Educational Media Reviews Online

Having little knowledge of the game of cricket, I didn’t have any idea what to expect of this film. I was pleasantly surprised. Having been brought up in this country as an avid fan of baseball and football and as a player of soccer, I know what it is like to see a sport interwoven into the fabric of society.

What surprised me most was to see a sport portrayed as a “way of life,” to so many people around the world. To Sanjay, cricket is a way to transfer the culture of his native India to his new found home in Canada. Few of us know what it is like to be up-rooted from our comfortable surroundings, to a completely different culture and to adapt easily. One feels Sanjay’s torment as he tries to adjust to his new country.

After a chance meeting with a cricket coach becomes a thread reaching back to India, Sanjay is able to explore his identity, nationalism and race and begin a transformation process to his life in a new land.

Through cricket, a sport rich in tradition in the British Commonwealth, Sanjay is able to grow with a group of second generation Canadians as they face competition from another group of more experienced cricket players from Trinidad. This group of boys from Canada while talented, needs this experience to gel as a team and grow from boys to young men.

The narrator explains the role cricket plays in the maturation process, changing these boys into team mates and the effect that it has as they adapt to their new environment. This is evident through the team’s youngest member, who develops from a raw talent into a productive team player. These trials follow this young lad and his teammates as they adjust to each other and their new culture.

The film is very effective in viewing cricket as a sub-culture, from the slums of India to the manicured lawns of Canada to the tropics of Trinidad. One can see how Sanjay’s life changes from the turbulence he experienced in India to a new found confidence in himself as an émigré in Canada.

Cricket and the Meaning of Life is a film which should be viewed in any school exploring identity, nationalism, race and diversity in the classroom. It will be very effective in library collections supporting diverse populations, such as a college, university or city with a strong ethnic heritage.

The visual techniques of switching from scenes in India to Canada to Trinidad are very successful in conveying the scope of the film. While you feel the emotion of the different characters, it never becomes overly dramatic. The audio and video qualities are excellent, as is the use of a narrator from time to time to add color to the presentation.

Highly recommended.