The unfair accusation of murder of one of the champions in American boxing – upon a true case
The story of the American-Canadian boxer Rubin Carter – the Hurricane (1937–2014), popular all over the world from Bob Dylan’s hit of the same name, became a landmark biographical film based on his personal autobiography (16th Round: From Number 1 Contender to Number 45472, 1974) and the novel Lazarus and the Hurricane: The Freeing of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter (1991) by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton.
Hurricane (Denzel Washington) is an ambitious and promising boxing champion in the prime of his youth and strength. In 1966, however, at the peak of his fame, he was unjustly accused of murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Almost a decade later, a teenager became acquainted with the Hurricane’s published memoirs and visited him in prison. When Rubin lost another chance to appeal the sentence, the boy addressed his guardians to help reconsider the case. Thus, a small group of supporters gradually formed around the Hurricane’s advocacy of innocence, making a tremendous effort and firmly refusing to end the struggle for his freedom: in the end, justice prevailed, albeit twenty years later…
This remarkable film tells the true story of the victory of a champion and the invincibility of human spirit. At the same time, it testifies once again to the imperfections in the judiciary, which allow not only significant errors, but also manifestations of injustice on racial and a number of other grounds, insulting the dignity of the individual.