Back on Track

Back on Track (Sein letztes Rennen, 2013) is a German tragicomedy by Kilian Riedhof that you can watch online on iFILM. A retired Olympic marathon champion, parked in a nursing home, decides to lace up for one final race.

Paul Averhoff (Dieter Hallervorden) once took gold in Melbourne; now he battles doctors, his daughter and his own worn-out knees for the right to run again. His wife Margot quietly backs the madness, his daughter (Heike Makatsch) is sure it will kill him, and a young care worker ends up as his unlikely coach. Training for the Berlin Marathon becomes a small revolt against old age.

Hallervorden, a comedian with half a century on German stages, dials the clowning all the way down and carries the film on the line between a laugh and a lump in the throat. The point is plain enough: you get to pick your own finish line. Stream Back on Track (2013) online on iFILM.