The prospect of retirement is something anyone may find themselves facing down at some point, regardless of your chosen career or pastime. Within the world of professional sports, it’s an inevitable end that reaches every athlete oftentimes sooner than one might desire, with factors chief among them being age and the subsequent deterioration of skills that may result.  As a player reaches a time anywhere from their late-20s to early-40s, the moment of realization where that door starts to close can be met with either gradual acceptance or stubborn defiance, but make no mistake, it comes for everyone, and it’s up to the person at the center to decide what happens next.
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However, there are those cases where the rug suddenly flies out unexpectedly and completely catches said person completely off guard, typically in the form of an illness or devastating injury.  Take Henrik Lundqvist, former goalie for the New York Rangers and the subject of the documentary “Open Heart”; as is the case with most docs, if you already know the subject’s story, there might not be enough in the way of new revelations to completely draw you in, but fortunately the personality of Lundqvist keeps the story engaging as he breaks down how exactly his own calling broke down. Hailing from Sweden, Lundqvist was as talented as it comes on the ice, tending the goal for the Rangers for the entirety of his 15-year run as part of the NHL, but when he found himself diagnosed with a serious heart condition that was causing fatigue and a drop in performance, surgery was the only option to not only give him back a life he shared with his wife and children but also potentially provide him with a few more years in the world of hockey.  Though initially successful, the surgery would ultimately lead to a litany of complications and that moment no professional athlete wishes to encounter; that moment where your final game suddenly looms large or may have already occurred.
As far as an example of a documentary, this one is as simple as you’re likely to find, with the traditional structure of backstory/event/conclusion used in a fairly standard paint-by-numbers fashion, but Lundqvist’s positivity throughout his talking head segments augmented by his infectious smile keep things engaging; even as he’s discussing the lowest moments in this journey, his presentation onscreen suggests a man who seems to have accepted his fate, legacy and what tomorrow might bring.  Though such figures from his life as his mother Eva and twin brother Joel show up from time to time to wax poetic on their own memories and respective relationships with Henrik, the scenes showing Lundqvist working with a therapist as they attempt to find meaning and happiness in the life of a soon-to-be-former NHL goalie offer an interesting detour that obviously compliments the main narrative; without the ability to continue doing what he loves, what is he?  It’s a question many have tried to answer and to see it play out throughout “Open Heart” is an interesting watch, to say the least.
“Open Heart” may not necessarily serve as some sort of trailblazer in the world of documentary filmmaking, but it’s a quick, easy view with a charming man at the center who can’t help but command attention as effortlessly as it once was for him to defend the Rangers goal.  No one can know for sure what tomorrow might bring, be it in terms of their own calling or life as a whole, but if we all could have the capacity to tackle it with the effortlessness with which Henrik Lundqvist acknowledged his fate, there’s no doubt rising to meet the challenge of a new day would be all the easier.  For this reason, above all, it’s hard not to recommend “Open Heart”; it’s a fitting epilogue to an outstanding life in the NHL and a fine little film all the way to the end. [B]
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