Movie review: "Salute" (2008)

The gist: The defining image of the 1968 Olympics is US 200-metre runners Tommie Smith and John Carlos giving the "black power" salute on the victory dais. The man who finished between and stood beside them is also a hero in America, though shamefully under-appreciated in his homeland - Australia's Peter Norman.

Selling points: Serious historical documenting (all file footage and interviews, no re-enactments) made doubly relevant by the Oz connection and upcoming Beijing games. Forces us to question whether sport should be blind to politics. Prior to Mexico '68, student protestors were massacred, now we have China hosting...

It's kinda like: A frickin' tragedy is what it's kinda like. The blackballing and personal hardship all three men endured as a result of their unrepentant actions will astonish, anger and likely reduce you to tears. The way Norman's achievements were ignored by the organisers of the Sydney Olympics is a national disgrace.

Final word: Tommie, Peter and John, we salute you.

[Australian cinema release date: July 17]