‘Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story’ Captures the Spirit of a Canadian Icon │ Exclaim!

In 1973, at the age of 15, Rick Hansen was riding in the back of a pickup truck looking forward to a great day of fishing. Hansen hitched a ride with an acquaintance who unfortunately lost control and rolled the truck. He would never walk again.

Several years later, he watched as his friend (and wheelchair basketball teammate) Terry Fox undertake the Marathon of Hope with the goal of raising money for cancer research. Inspired, Hansen began training and eventually began a two-year, 40,000 km journey across four continents in his wheelchair. Like Fox, Hansen would both increase awareness and raise millions of dollars for spinal cord research and disability access around Canada and the world.

Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story chronicles his life, the worldwide tour he embarked upon and his advocacy for people with disabilities. Not unlike Fox, Hansen lives up to the hype. If there’s one constant in his story, it’s the sheer force of will Hansen summoned in order to make the tour happen. Adrian Buitenhuis’s do***entary presents Hansen as earnest and forthright, and as a man anyone would immediately trust and be rewarded for doing so.

Buitenhuis is not new to the genre: he’s behind many of Crave’s I Am series of celebrity do***entaries, most notably I Am Heath Ledger and I Am Paul Walker, and he served as producer and cinematographer on Andrew McCarthy’s 2024 film Brats. While clearly a seasoned hand at the biographical do***entary, Buitenhuis’s style of interweaving archival footage and talking heads feels a little plain by today’s standards, especially in a year with films like You Can See Everything and Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney (and, to a lesser extent, Sean Menard’s do***entary about Fox, Run Terry Run) pushing the boundaries of do***entary filmmaking.

Still, a story well told is a story well told, and there’s real power in your subject facing the camera and talking about their accomplishments, as well as their hard times and emotional moments. Hansen was on the road for two years and, in that time, he encountered thousands of people, many of whom were understanding and many of whom were indifferent. The film almost makes the story feel too easy, even though it’s chronicling hardship.

However, this approach leads the last act of the story to some powerful moments, such as him discussing his relationship with the woman who would become his wife and when he crosses the same mark where Fox was forced to stop. Also, the power of simply returning home to Canada after being away and watching throngs of people welcome Hansen back, many of whom are ready and willing to support and donate.

Rick Hansen’s story is one of perseverance, and it’s clear this endures. His efforts and foundation have raised hundreds of millions of dollars, and he speaks as p***ionately today as he did in the archival footage from 40 years ago. While Buitenhuis doesn’t delve too deep under the surface, he presents a portrait of Hansen’s character and captures the spirit of a Canadian icon.