Wind (DVD, 2003)

One needn't be a sailing aficionado to appreciate Carroll Ballard's WIND, an thrilling sports drama based on the true story of Dennis Conner, the man who caused national embarrassment in 1983 by becoming the first American to lose the America's Cup trophy in the 140-year history of the race. Unfortunately, in Ballard's film, the Cup isn't all Will Parker (Matthew Modine) loses. His girlfriend Kate (Jennifer Grey), also an expert sailor, already walked out on him when she was denied a place on his crew because of her gender and Will failed to protest the decision. Following his defeat, Will heads to Utah to find Kate and convince her to team up with him in building a brand-new, improved yacht that they will sail together in an attempt to win America's Cup back from the Australians. With the help of the brilliant Joe Heiser (Stellan Skarsgard) and the wealthy Abigail Weld (Rebecca Miller), Will puts everything he has into one last chance at redemption. Ballard's by-the-books genre film is aided greatly by the performances of its four leads (most notably, Modine and Skarsgard). It also doesn't hurt to have the picture shot by John Toll (BRAVEHEART, THE THIN RED LINE), one of cinema's most celebrated cinematographers.