“Gleason”

Rated R (1:50)

***

Opens today at Kapolei 16

It’s hard to make a mark in the NFL as a special teams player, the mostly anonymous guys who are in to cover kickoff and punt returns — even most fans don’t know their names.

That Steve Gleason was not only able to make it as a special teams player with the New Orleans Saints for seven years despite being undersized for the NFL, but that he was also able to author a moment that helped a region restore pride in a post-Katrina landscape was fairly remarkable.

But not nearly as remarkable as the tenacity and poise he displays in his battle with ALS.

Clay Tweel’s documentary “Gleason” not only tells the story of a cult football hero, but also of a man who, despite his deteriorating physical condition, is able to spearhead a foundation and whose mission led to a law passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama to provide valuable services for the victims of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), aka Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The documentary was co-produced by Scott Fujita, a former Cal football player and a teammate of Gleason’s in New Orleans, who is also active in Gleason’s foundation, Team Gleason.

What makes the film so valuable is the detailed visual record of the progression of the disease. Gleason was diagnosed in 2011, at around the same time his wife, Michel, became pregnant. Gleason begins a video diary that not only serves as messages to his son, with whom he fears he will never have a conversation, but documents his physical decline.

The result is a warts-and-all portrait of a terrible situation. The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, has been praised for being inspirational, and there are elements of that. But it is also an excruciating and often heartbreaking film.

Gleason became famous in New Orleans after he blocked a punt that led to a key touchdown in the Saints’ first game back in the Louisiana Superdome after a year playing in San Antonio following Katrina’s destruction. There is now a statue of the play outside of the stadium.

So Gleason is used to being an inspirational figure, and as an ALS patient, he uses his connections — Saints quarterback Drew Brees, members of Pearl Jam, etc. — to gain awareness of ALS issues and to jump-start his foundation.