[SXSW 2024] CLEMENTE -- Moving Biographical Documentary Overcomes Safe Filmmaking

Review by Sean Boelman

Sometimes, the subject of a documentary film is just so incredible that their story could be told in any way, and the result would still be compelling. This is the case with Clemente, a sports biography that is sometimes held back by its adherence to the conventions of the genre but is consistently engaging nonetheless.

The movie tells the story of Roberto Clemente Sr., the Puerto Rican baseball player who revolutionized the sport both on and off the field. Altrogge does a good job of balancing the different aspects of Clemente’s life — his athletic career, personal life, and advocacy — to deliver an engaging, respectful, and meaningful portrait of the legend.

Clemente falls victim to the cardinal sin of many biographical documentaries: meaningless interviews with celebrities for clout. The connection of some of the interviewees — like Michael Keaton (included as a Pittsburgh native and lifelong Pirates fan) and Rita Moreno (seemingly used because she’s another Puerto Rican trailblazer) — is tenuous, and their inclusion merely out of seeking clout. 

Instead of these interviews, Altrogge should have spent more time with Clemente’s son, Roberto Clemente Jr., or with the slew of modern-day Latino MLB players Clemente paved the way for in the game. Also more interesting were the fan stories of everyday people who had once-in-a-lifetime interactions with Clemente — revealing a side of Clemente that feels like we didn’t know.

Still, Altrogge’s documentary makes a strong case for its existence in how well it engages with Clemente’s role in breaking the color barrier of baseball. Of course, we’ve heard the story dozens of times about how the legendary Jackie Robinson integrated baseball, but the story continues with Clemente almost a decade later.

The documentary has the polished, highly-produced style of editing that many documentaries about iconic figures boast. It features a ton of great archive footage, crisply shot talking head interviews, and some animated graphics thrown in for good measure. Overall, the pacing is quite strong.

A few of the quirks of this type of nonfiction filmmaking have started to grow old, though. For example, the first five minutes are essentially a sizzle reel teasing the rest of what we will see in the documentary. It’s frustrating that filmmakers can’t think of a more natural way to hook audiences.

Although some of director David Altrogge’s filmmaking decisions in telling the story of Roberto Clemente Sr. are frustrating, Clemente is such an incredible athlete, person, and role model that it's hard not to get swept up in this documentary. That alone is enough to make Clemente worth watching for any baseball fan.

Clemente is screening at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival, which runs March 8-16 in Austin, TX.

​Rating: 3/5