Hoop Dreams (1994)*@

This week's recommendation is my favorite documentary film. I know what you are thinking. why would i want to watch a three hour documentary about high school basketball? I don't even like sports! Well, for one thing it is a very well made movie. It took more than four years to make, so i think that justifies its three hour length. most importantly, it isn't just a sports movie. it is a movie about life, specifically, the harsh realities of life in the inner city.
I became interested in this movie because of my love for chicago high school basketball. however, after viewing the movie, i quickly realized that basketball was just a back drop to a story about two families and their everyday struggle to achieve the so-called american dream.
The film crew follows the lives of two young basketball prodigies as they go through their four years of high school. William Gates and Arthur Agee both receive scholarship to attend a basketball powerhouse famously known for producing chicago legend and an NBA great, Isiah Thomas. the two start out at the same place but their paths do not lead the same way. through the course of the four years, you get to know the two kids and their families. and what you witness is nothing but the reality of life, both the good and the bad. for Agee and Gates, basketball wasn't just a game, it was everything. it was the hope for a path out of their neighborhood to a better way of life. It is a dream only a few can hope to achieve. Hoop Dreams does a brilliant job of sharing two of those very endearing stories with the rest of the world.

Imdb- 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes- critics- 98% community- 92%
@-one of Ebert's great movies.

Yong stars-10/10 (must see)
*one of 1001 movies to see before you die