Review: Hoop Dreams (1994)

Hoop Dreams (1994)

I finally had the pleasure of being able to watch the acclaimed Hoop Dreams and I can tell you that it is one of the finest documentaries I have ever seen. Hoop Dreams is an engrossing story that follows two young boys, living with their families in an impoverished and predominantly black neighbourhood of Chicago, Illinois, who aspire to take their proficient basketball skills to the next level.

The documentary was originally only intended to be a 30-minute short film made by PBS, however, based on the mutually (and coincidentally) extraordinarily interesting developments that ensued in both of the boys' lives, the documentary crew ended up following both of them for close to eight years, compiling more than 250 hours of raw footage. The end result is a three hour, fascinating look into the worlds of teenage aspiration, youth basketball, the American private and public school system, and, foremost, the hard lives of African Americans in South-side Chicago.

The documentary's original intentions show through in its footage and an audience watching the documentary today may be a bit thrown off by the grainy, shaky and generally unpolished footage and tone of the filmmaking compared with today's sleek and glamorous documentary style. However, it is impossible not to get drawn into the engrossing stories of William Gates, Arthur Agee, and their respective families. The trajectory that all of their lives take - the way the two boys' basketball pathways comparatively weave back and forth - is utterly remarkable to behold. The events take place over many years, and, as life often is, developments that occur in these individuals' lives are heartbreaking, rejoiceful, shocking and complex. Though the documentary is about the two boys, many of the events and arcs of their immediate family members are some of the most interesting to witness.

For anyone who enjoys documentaries, basketball, stories about hardship and triumph, or, simply, want to partake in an important and rewarding look into the lives of African Americans in Chicago, then I implore you to watch Hoop Dreams.

10/10