Well-intentioned sporting drama based on a true story that can’t help but stir the emotions, Jungle Cry sees 12 orphan boys travel from India to take part in 2007’s under-14s Rugby World Cup Championship in Wales. These youngsters, from backgrounds of terrible poverty and varying tribes, are thrown together as a team in a sport they have never played before. Football had been their game of choice, but when scout Paul Walsh (Stewart Wright) arrives, and sees the youngsters’ natural sporting prowess, he thinks they’re in with a shot.
Their inspiring football coach – Rudra, played by Abhay Deol – takes some convincing, but soon switches from the round to the oval ball. Watermelons are used, offside rules explained and soon, via the tried and tested sports film montage sequence, the Jungle Cats (as the team are now called) overcome their initial stumbling blocks. They’re on their way to Wales, with Rudra in charge and Emily Shah’s sports physio Roshni to manage them.
Pitted against bigger, more experienced teams – like Langa Lions from South Africa, run by Julian Lewis Jones’ handlebar-moustached Dale – rivalries and tensions escalate especially amongst the star players. Battling the inclement Welsh weather to boot, can the team come together? There are some awkward, documentary-style to-camera moments to forward the narrative, simplify the story, over-explain the plot and point out emotional beats. The script does have clunky moments, especially in the relationship between Rudra and Roshni, and some judicious editing could have aided the film’s saggier moments.
Cameos come from rugby players Colin Charvis and Phil Bennet plus referee Nigel Owens, alongside Welsh actors Richard Elfyn and Rhys Ap Williams. The central tenet of the underdog sports film wins out, despite the formulaic approach. These poverty-stricken players, who initially played barefoot in lieu of boots and who had mere months to prepare before performing on the world stage with aplomb, make Jungle Cry an inspiring fairytale story.
Dir: Sagar Ballary (U, 117 mins)
Out Fri 20 May
words KEIRON SELF
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