‘All I used to dream about was playing in the NBA. I don’t really dream about it like that anymore…’
Widely considered one of the best documentary films ever made, Hoop Dreams is ostensibly about two young boys and their dream of playing professional basketball but it is also about socioeconomic division, race and the American education system. Originally mooted as a 30-minute short for PBS, Hoop Dreams eventually became a sprawling three-hour exploration of the decay of the American Dream…
Steve James’ seminal documentary Hoop Dreams follows William Gates and Arthur Agee, two African-American high school students, as they attempt to make it in the big leagues. The film is not only a fascinating snapshot into the sports system in America – something that is almost incomprehensible to anyone living outside of that system – but it also offers a voice to a community that are so often marginalised and forgotten, even more so when the film was released back in 1994. Representation alone certainly doesn’t make for good cinema, however, something that has been demonstrated time and time again in recent years. No. What makes Hoop Dreams so successful is the skill of the filmmakers in building tension and allowing the viewer into the homes of two young boys with big dreams. Gates and Agee are very different but also very similar in some ways. It’s impossible not to root for them.
One thing that Hoop Dreams does very well is to provide an insight into just how difficult it is to make it as a pro sportsman. Everyone has that one kid in their high school who could’ve made it pro but a mixture of bad injuries, bad attitude or just plain bad luck thwarted them. Never is that more apparent here. It’s heartbreaking to watch but always captivating. I defy anyone not to be moved by the image of a young man crying in his mother’s arms after yet another dream has slipped away.
Hoop Dreams is inspirational, informative and innovative. It changed the way documentary films were made forever and also paved the way for the current spate of sports documentaries doing the rounds on the various streaming services – a quietly revolutionary movie.
