Review of Hoop Dreams (1994) by Train M — 01 Dec 2009
Some documentaries are successful because they tell a palateable and recognizeable story, whether that story was obvious from the beginning or assembled in the edit room. Some documentaries are successful because they follow a narrative as obtuse and unconventional as real life itself, with no tied-up endings or moral lessons.
'Hoop Dreams' is unique in that tells a gripping tale that's irresistably compelling while at the same time bucking expectations and ducking convention at every turn. You watch the lives of these two children and their families, who have almost nothing and for whom success always seems within sight but out of reach, lives defined by unshakeable will.
You watch their fortunes rise and fall on a truly grand scale, and just when you think they're down and out, they come back and surprise you. The exciting basketball games share equal time with simple, unassuming shots capturing entirely conventional, even banal slices of urban life, but when it's complied together at a metronome-steady pace, the emotional story that emerges couldn't be more clear.
The film contains what is best in all documentaries: Simple truth, unfiltered life, and a depiction of events by which it is impossible not to be moved.
This review of Hoop Dreams (1994) was written by Train M on 01 Dec 2009.
Hoop Dreams has generally received very positive reviews.
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