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The inspirational documentary is a difficult balancing act. You have to take an attractive subject, make the audience sympathetic to his or her plight, tug on the heart strings without being too manipulative, tell an interesting story that builds to a satisfying conclusion, and find a way to do all of this without resorting to base cliches. Regular readers will know that I don't usually fall for cheap sentiment. So when I found out that Oprah Winfrey had chosen to put her considerable influence behind a true-life story called Emmanuel's Gift, I didn't exactly mark its debut on my calendar.

Fortunately, the movie, which opens this Friday at the Music Box theater, is an inspirational documentary in the best sense of that phrase. It tells the story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, a man from Ghana who was born with a deformed leg. In a society where disabled children are either left to die or hidden away in shame, Emmanuel's mother had the audacity to enroll him in school. And that example clearly left its mark on Emmanuel. One family member tells a funny tale that when the village children wouldn't let Emmanuel play soccer with them, he earned enough money to buy his own ball and then let the children use it on the condition he be allowed to play. While most disabled adults in Ghana earn a meager existence begging on the streets, he refused to go that route, instead learning and practicing a trade.

Emmanuel's life changed when, as a young man, his mother died. It was then that he got the idea to somehow obtain a bike and ride across Ghana. He turned to an American organization called Challenged Athletes Foundation, which provided the bike. But Emmanuel had to raise money and get support in his own country, which included making presentations before the chiefs and elders of villages he'd be passing through on his ride. That accomplished, Emmanuel set out on his ten-day trek, a journey that galvanized the country and drew the attention of Bob Babbitt, the head of Challenged Athletes.

I expected most of the documentary to be about the ride across Ghana, but it instead focuses mostly on the aftermath. Emmanuel is invited to come to the U.S., where he meets two fellow disabled athletes: an adult man who was injured in an accident and then later paralyzed while competing as a disabled athlete, along with a young double amputee named Rudy. The man, Jim MacLaren, inspires Emmanuel to compete in other athletic endeavors, while Rudy encourages him to accept the surgery that will lead to Emmanuel being fitted with a prosthesis.

The documentary unfortunately has little footage of his journey across Ghana, but it makes up for that with extensive footage of Emmanuel's time in the States. We see him as he meets with various disabled athletes, as he prepares for surgery, and his recovery which is incredibly swift. So swift, in fact, that within a few months Emmanuel is running a triathlon. We also follow him back to Ghana, where he's treated like an Olympic hero. But Emmanuel isn't satisfied with those accomplishments. He sets out to change how his countrymen perceive and treat the disabled.

The last third of the film is what sets Emmanuel's Gift apart from other "inspirational" films. Emmanuel's selflessness is so genuine and his cause is so just that you can't help but root for him. Even my friend Garth, who can be unfortunately cynical, was able to ignore the film's wall-to-wall soundtrack and be swept up in the story.

Co-directors Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern aren't documentary auteurs like Errol Morris or Steve James, but they do know how to craft a movie. They mix the standard talking head footage with photographs and even video footage of Emmanuel's childhood. They also predictably but efficiently show us the beauty of Ghana (its ocean coastline and rolling countryside) as well as its bustling urban center. And though they have little coverage of the initial ride across Ghana, they're with Emmanuel at pretty much every significant moment after that. The rise of documentaries has led to some sloppy filmmaking in the last year. I can't count how many I've seen lately where it was obvious the films were randomly skipping around because the filmmakers weren't in the right place at the right time. Lax and Stern know how to tell a story and make sure they have the footage to do so.

Most importantly, Emmanuel himself is such an attractive and thoughtful subject for a film that the directors wisely get out of the way and let him speak for himself. This leads to some great moments that will probably have you wiping your eyes. And if in the end you stand up and cheer, as Oprah might put it, that's ok, too.   

J. Robert Parks