October 8: Breaking Away

This week’s film is Breaking Away, directed by Peter Yates.

At its core, Breaking Away is all about the challenges transitioning from adolescence to adulthood and the pursuit of dreams. Set in the middle-class suburbs of Bloomington, the four friends struggle to find their place in the world after high school. They are caught between the allure of adulthood and the simplicity of their carefree teenage years without any long-term goals... except for Dave, the film’s protagonist. Obsessed with Italian culture and cycling, he longs to be a part of his university’s annual Little 500 bicycle endurance race. So, in the face of adversity, Dave and his friends team up to compete.

Breaking Away opened to critical acclaim and won hearts across the country. It won the 1979 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and was further nominated for Best Picture. In 2006, the film was ranked 8th on the list of America's 100 Most Inspiring Movies by the American Film Institute.

It was also the launching pad for actor Dennis Christopher, who plays Dave– he would later go on to feature in the films Django Unchained, It, and Chariots of Fire. In a 2019 interview, he said that the film’s success with audiences over more than 30 years has been “a wonderful ride”:

I’ve heard so many stories about a woman who opened a bike shop to get out of an abusive relationship, men who left the corporate world to start cycling, people who found teaching, whatever it is, it’s changed a lot of people’s lives and made them take stock of what they’re doing. I don’t know how that happened, but boy am I glad that it did.

Breaking Away will screen at the Gala to all IFS members on Sunday, 8 October at 7pm. Make sure you don’t miss this motivational and culturally impactful film!