‘Make It To Munich’ review: Rousing doc follows injured teen footballer getting back in the saddle

Dir/scr: Martyn Robertson. UK. 2025. 93mins

In 2023, Scottish teenage footballer Ethan Walker was living the dream at college in New York State when he was hit by a car and left with life-threatening injuries. A mere nine months later, he set out to cycle the 1200km from Glasgow to Munich for Scotland’s vital opening game against Germany in the 2024 Euro finals. That journey is the foundation upon which director Martyn Robertson has built the engaging documentary Make It To Munich. The film takes its cue from Walker’s personality, and oozes positivity as it slowly develops an emotional kick and becomes both an ending and a new beginning for the irrepressible young man. 

 Takes its cue from Walker’s personality and oozes positivity

The combination of an impossible-odds human interest story and the hopes-of-a-nation football fixture should create commercial appeal for the film in Scotland, following its world premire at the closing gala of the Glasgow Film Festival. Elswhere, home entertainment may be a more comfortable fit.

Robertson previously produced the documentaries Marty Goes To Hollywood (2015) and Ride The Waves (2021), and makes his directorial debut here. He wastes little time in getting to the heart of Walker’s story. Childhood home videos reveal a young boy who loved football and was talented at the game. In September 2023, aged 17, he was on a football scholarship at Genesee Community College in New York state when he was hit by a vehicle while crossing the street and sustained extensive injuries, including two brain bleeds. His mother Jaclyn was informed that he may not live. Photos depict Walker weeks after the incident, shockingly emaciated as he could neither speak nor swallow properly. 

Like Walker, however, this is not a film that dwells on the past or surrenders to the negative. The focus is very much on the future as the young man prepares to embark on his big cycle. Scotland vice captain John McGinn entrusts him with transporting the pennant that they will present to the German captain in Munich. Walker will be accompanied by sports surgeon Gordon Mackay, ardent Scotland supporter Stephen Collie, the filmmaker and a posse of volunteers making up his support team.

Make It To Munich is conventional in its approach as we follow the progress of their journey. On screen titles clock the growing kilometres covered and diminishing number of days until the big match. Animation conveys the route travelled as the quartet venture from Scotland to the Netherlands and Germany. Along the way, it is all largely uneventful – strangers are friendly, the weather occasionally takes a turn towards the inclement, riverbanks flood, there are punctures.

With no big logistical dramas, the focus falls on Walker, his remarkable stamina and endless optimism. A significant element of the film is Walker’s relationship with the paternalistic Mackay, the inventor of the InternalBrace for ligament repair, who played a key role in the speed of Walker’s recovery and rehabilitation. On their travels he offers support, encouragement and ultimately a reality check about the chances of Walker resuming his footballing career.

One of the most appealing aspects of the film is the way it captures this male camaraderie and the cracks in their stoical endurance. The little moments when exhaustion is acknowledged, limitations are reached and a tear is shed give the film its warmth. Throughout it all, Walker is unstoppable and the film serves as a tribute to his inspirational spirit.