Suffer for Good

NEW HARD-HITTING DOC REVEALS HARD TRUTHS AND TOUGH LOVE BEHIND THE GLORY OF COMBAT SPORTS

BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC

Tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union spilled over into international sports during the final rounds of the Cold War: President Carter responded to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by boycotting the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. The Soviet Union returned the favor in 1984 when they opted to pass on the Los Angeles Olympics. The cost of this political posturing was the sacrificing of countless dreams of some of the world’s best athletes.

Seb Zewbie was a worldclass amateur boxer fighting for the Ethiopian Olympic team when the nation followed the lead of their Soviet allies and dropped out of the Los Angeles games. Suffer For Good is a new documentary film about Zewbie, his dashed dreams, and his new journey to train new champions and get back into the ring himself.

Contemporary martial arts and combat sports of all types now occupy a sizable chunk of the online social environment: Instagram is jammed with highlight knockouts and fight gear sponsors, and YouTube has become a digital dojo where some of the best fighters and coaches in the world share their technical secrets and war stories with millions of viewers. Of course, few fighters post images when they’re out of shape, and highlight videos — by definition — are carefully edited to only show fighters at their very best.

Director Danny Simmons’ film is admirable because it gives viewers something completely different: Simmons takes his cues from his film’s title, and instead of offering the glitzy lights, cheering crowds, and satin robes we associate with the pomp of fisticuffs, this film dwells on suffering. Simmons pictures the loneliness of early morning runs, the frustration of uncommitted athletes, the agony of defeat, and the pains of growing old. This isn’t a movie about glory. This is a film about the grind.

The movie’s titular “good” is reflected in lessons about humility, the openness it allows for and the learning it makes possible. When his fighters start to slack off in the middle of a grueling sequence of abdominal crunch exercises, Zewbie yells, “Suffer! Suffer for good.” His philosophy is about delayed gratification in the extreme: the idea that if fighters can voluntarily put themselves through hell in their training and sparring, they’ll find ease and comfort in the furnace of fight night. Unlike fight documentaries that might only focus on a particular bout or belt, Simmons’ film is a story about lifelong learning. “Suffer for good” is a phrase about athletic work ethic, but, more importantly, it speaks to the human condition as a whole. And it reminds viewers that in all the games of life we only lose when we quit. As Zewbie’s father taught him: “Try until you die.”

Zewbie’s journey from Olympic hopeful to being injured in a criminal assault to rehabilitation and making his way to America to build a new dream is, of course, inspirational. But Zewbie isn’t a flashy character or a sentimental type, and this film perfectly matches its subject. Simmons has done lots of commercial work, travel films, and directed a web series pilot, but this is his first feature length documentary. Simmons is a former college baseball player and he met Zewbie while training at Seb Boxing in Culver City, Calif. Simmons’ understanding of athletic sacrifice from the inside out seems to have given him an edge when it comes to telling hard truths with tough love. And I’m sure his coach is very proud.

Suffer for Good premiered on most digital platforms on Dec. 8.

Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.