The Ultra Runner

Romanian athlete Tiberiu Uşeriu competes in some of the toughest contests in the world, running, most famously, in the 6633 Arctic Ultra, a 380-mile race that takes its name from its high latitude across Canada’s icy northern terrain. But The Ultra Runner is no extreme sports documentary. While much of this spectacularly shot film tracks Uşeriu along this grueling physical journey as he battles frozen toes, snowstorms, and total exhaustion, the true endurance test turns out to be a psychological one, revealed as the film flashes back to Uşeriu’s extraordinary personal story.

Growing up with an abusive father while living under Romania’s repressive Ceaușescu regime, Uşeriu was not exactly set up to be a champion. Through dramatic reenactments, the film recounts his difficult youth and an even darker coming of age as a European émigré who falls into a Serbian crime syndicate. An astonishing story about overcoming trauma, The Ultra Runner follows one man who has spent his whole life running from his past—and is finally ready to move forward.

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