Gail Rosenblum: A hockey movie that's about a lot more

I figured I'd better beef up my knowledge of hockey and hemophilia before viewing, "Thicker Than Water," at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival. I didn't need to. Turns out the documentary, directed by former Minnesotan Bradley Rappa and starring his now 21-year-old nephew, Tony, really isn't about either.

Before explaining, I'm issuing a SPOILER ALERT, a link to the film (www.tiny.cc/7xywh), and a suggestion that, should you attend, pack plenty of Kleenex.

The film features Tony Rappa at age 11, the kind of kid who parents, teachers and 11-year-old girls adore. He's sweet-faced and loving, cheery and wise, without being irritating. Mostly, he's free of self-pity, a tall order considering the boy has potentially fatal type A hemophilia and is going to play hockey anyway.

"At 6, he wanted to play hockey and that was like, 'Oh, my gosh,'" says Tony's mom, Lori, a vibrant presence in the film, and in her son's life. OK, you can play, she tells him, but only in the non-checking mites league.

"Uncle Brad," who said he was born with a camera "surgically connected" to his body, tracks every move of his nephew's 11th year, as Tony gears up to play his final hockey game and we cringe as boys, being boys, ram into each other anyway, despite the rules.

"Kids in our age don't hit very hard, so it's fine," cherubic Tony assures us.

Tony -- Lori and Scott's first child -- was born on Labor Day in 1989 -- "the greatest day" that quickly turned into "the saddest day," Lori tells the camera. Hemophilia, typically inherited, is a rare bleeding disorder in which blood doesn't clot normally. Even falling off a bicycle can lead to continuous bleeding and the risk of organ damage. But the Rappas knew that. Lori's brother, John, also had hemophilia. He died in his mid-30s of HIV and Hepatitis C caused by tainted blood.

"You really would have no idea at all [about the hemophilia] unless he mentioned it," said childhood buddy and college roommate, Garrick Delaney, 20. "If you want to ask him questions, he's definitely willing to answer, but it's just a small part of his life."

Tony's twin siblings, Nick and Mary, are seniors at White Bear Lake High School.

Filmmaker Rappa admired his big brother, Scott, and sister-in-law Lori, who were high school sweethearts, for the way they raised Tony. "They were always on the same page," he said, which meant they allowed their son to live as normal a life as possible. It was a philosophy vigorously supported by John before he died.

The film could have been 72 maudlin minutes. It isn't. One reason is that, after filming from 1998 to 2001, Rappa wisely shelved the project for nearly five years, mainly out of self-preservation.

"It was so painful to go through the footage," said Rappa, 43, the middle of the five Rappa brothers. (Scott is the oldest). Raised in Stillwater, Rappa received his MFA in filmmaking from Syracuse University and now lives in Ithaca, N.Y.

That reason emerges as viewers begin to connect the dots. Beautiful Lori, so proud of her once long brown hair, suddenly wears it short, then pulls on caps and scarves to cover her bald head. All the while, she effectively shifts attention away from herself and onto her remarkable son.

Live your life, she tells Tony, as she fights to save her own.

After watching the film for the first time a week ago, Tony stepped away from the living room of his Dinkytown apartment and covered his tear-streaked face with his T-shirt. "I didn't remember what her voice sounded like," he said in apology, and I did not know how to begin to tell him that he owed no apology for that honest moment or his reluctance to look at the film again.

But you should see it. "Thicker Than Water" is a film about seizing life, not hiding from it.

Mostly, it's about a mother's love, and you don't have to know a thing about hockey to be moved by that.

If you're interested in purchasing the film, click here.