As far as documentaries go, this one is the best. Shot over a period of four years, the director does a masterful job of presenting the lives and dreams of two young kids in the Chicago ghetto. But this movie goes beyond that. We get to see just how important it is for a young black kid to dream of playing in the NBA. It is the only way for these youths to escape the cycle of poverty, to make their families proud and to be respected in a white man's world. Both William Gates and Arthur Agee start at the same level. They both get partial scholarships from the prestigious St. Joseph's high, they both have the same amount of talent, they come from the same background. But fate has different paths in store for them. Gates lucks out and gets a sponsorship that would allow him to finish his education at St. Joe's. Agee does not show improvement, no-one seems to believe in him either and he is kicked out when his parents cannot pay for half the tuition. High hopes are pinned on Gates. The director does a terrific job of coming again and again back to Isiah Thomas'-the famous St. Joe alum- trophy case. He is the ghost that constantly haunts Gates. The young boy is under a great amount of pressure to succeed, from his coach, from the school, from his brother -the former basketball star who never made it big-, his mother. A knee injury makes him lose his confidence and his hopes of playing in the NBA are lost. Agee, on the other hand, is thrown back in the gutter. No one thinks he will ever make it big after leaving St. Joe's. He is tempted by drugs and gangs, his father abandons them at a very critical time, his mother loses her job. He no longer dreams of playing in the NBA. He still plays ball for Marshall, a poor inner-city school. Through another twist of fate, he leads his school to a miracle run in the state championships in his senior year and all of a sudden he can dream again. I'm giving all these details because I know this documentary is worth watching. It's not just an insight in African-American culture, but also a story of two kids who you can root for, and perhaps even see a part of your life in them. I was genuinely touched and moved. Congratulations to whoever made this documentary.
Review of Hoop Dreams
