Gleason

When we first meet Steve Gleason in the Sundance Festival-launched documentary Gleason: Diary of a Saint, he’s living a charmed life. He plays for the New Orleans Saints and makes a momentous punt block in the team’s first game after Hurricane Katrina, which became a symbol for New Orleans’ recovery.

But that’s just a prelude to one of the most wrenching portraits of the strength of love. It’s intimated when Steve is getting married to Michel, his soulmate, and their officiant says, “It’s not how we act when things are great. It’s how we act when things are difficult.”

And good God, they get difficult.

Shortly after the wedding, in 2011, Steve is diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The film is comprised of home movies, adventure videos, news clips and documentary footage that chronicle the degeneration of his body, and his and his family’s will to live deeply despite it.

Much footage comes from video diaries. He and Michel had a baby boy, Rivers, shortly after the diagnosis, and those diaries comprise Steve’s deepest messages of love and guidance – messages he knows he may not be able to deliver by the time Rivers is old enough to understand.

They are hugs, he tells Rivers in one video. He tries to hug the camera, but his arms are already too weak.

The film is also about fatherhood. Steve’s doting on his son is true and radiant, even as he is losing his mobility and speech as his son is developing. Steve confronts his own father, Mike, a tough, religious man who takes Steve to church.

“I’m going to run,” Steve, already hobbling, struggles to tell the congregation. He crouches, launches, and falls on his face. Michel cries. The audience will too.

Steve tells the camera, “[ALS] is not going to crush my life, even if it crushes my body.” The light gets very distant.

Triumph and despair come in waves with no diversions, no crutches, no effects, no pulling back from the reality. Steve and Michel, in the midst of their own struggles, still reach out to help others – sustained by Michel’s incredible reserves of devotion and Steve’s football network. Part of that network includes former teammate and Carmel Valley resident Scott Fujita, a producer of the film, who will field a Q&A after the 7:15pm Friday and Saturday screenings.

The arc of the film’s nearly two hours proposes living life like it’s a gift, finding a cause bigger than oneself, and loving your family like it’s your only opportunity to do so. It’s powerful stuff.

GLEASON (4) • Directed by Clay Tweel • Starring Steve Gleason, Michel Varisco-Gleason, Rivers Gleason • Not rated • 110 mins. • At Century Cinemas Del Monte.