HOOP DREAMS IS A DREAM OF A MOVIE

Starring: Arthur Agee and William Gates

Edited by: Frederick Marx, Steve James,

Bill Haugse

Directed by: Steve James

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Once in a while a film comes around that is successful at being art and entertainment. This is not one of those movies. Hoop Dreams is all of the above, but most importantly, it is life. It achieves what only a few movies can-reality, art and entertainment.

Hoop Dreams is the story of two black young men. Arthur Agee and William Gates to be exact. They live in the "projects" of urban Chicago, where they do what they know how to do best, play basketball. The movie follows the two young men through high school and eventually college. It shows the hardship and strains that each one of them face as they try to fulfil their "Hoop Dreams".

To say that Hoop Dreams is only about basketball, is to say that school is only for learning. Hoop Dreams is NOT about basketball. Instead, the movie serves as a brilliant look into the present day lifestyle of "Black America", the confused youth of today, the state of the family and the American Dream. Above all, this movie is social commentary without the bias that plagues many "issue movies", like Roger & Me.

Hoop Dreams combines over four years of life into almost three hours of film. Arthur Agee and William Gates are introduced as two young promising basketball players. Supposedly, they have the talent that could lead them to the NBA. We see them being watched, as they play in neighbourhood courts, by scouts for high schools. Then we talk to the boys themselves, who seem to be very shy in front of a camera (who wouldn't!?!). After talking to the boys, we speak to their families. They speak about how their sons are good, and that all they do is dream about playing in the NBA. We watch as the two boys are given full scholarships to St. Joseph's Catholic High School out in the suburbs. We watch as they make the long commute from their urban homes to the clean, predominantly white world of St. Joe's.

However, then something happens. The director noticed it, and so does the audience. It appears that there is more to the this story than just basketball. It is at this moment when Hoop Dreams becomes the masterpiece that it is. We start to learn more about their families. Any other director would keep the focus on the sons, but Steve James probes deeper and deeper into the Agee and Gates families. We get to know William's brother, who is living his own lost dream through William. We get to know Arthur's parents who are struggling to stay together, get jobs and keep them, put food on the table and keep their sanity. We get to know Arthur's friend who means well but falls through the cracks and ends up in jail.

In one of the most disturbing images ever captured on film, Arthur's father comes to watch and play b-ball with his son at the school yard. After wishing his son well, Bo walks off. In the background we see him buying drugs off of a local dealer. Arthur is aware of what his father is doing. His face is filled with anger, embarrassment and shame. This is an emotion that no actor could ever try to imitate.

In a bitter-sweet moment, Arthur's mother graduates from nursing school. Her tears of happiness display a sense of pride in her accomplishments, yet her happiness is shared with a bunch of empty chairs in a cold room.

Another great scene (or moment in these people's lives) is when William is invited to a very prestigious camp for high school basketball players. It is here that scouts from major teams look at who could be their next Michael Jordan. The camp is a meat market. At this camp, Spike Lee makes a speech to these young men that is blunt and short, yet sums up everything. He tells them that the colleges and universities only want them (the players) for the money and publicity that is gained by a winning basketball team. It is here that William reinjures his leg, and probably where his career ends.

Hoop Dreams is so successful, because it offers a look at the behind the scenes of college basketball and the price that each player must pay. William and Arthur are pursued savagely by colleges, but when William is injured, the colleges avoid him like the plague.

Probably the only villain in the film is St. Joseph. This school drops Arthur's scholarship when he doesn't perform on the court as they expected. As a result, his parents must pay some money before Arthur's transcript can be released to the public school. As a result, Arthur misses almost half of a semester of school. St Joe's also employs one of the most hated coaches of all time. Coach Pingatore shows such lack of emotions, pain and love that it becomes painful to watch him scold other players. He's one of the those people that is so mean, you don't know if he's yelling at you because he loves you, or if he's yelling at you because he's just a bastard and a tyrant.

The lives in this story are exciting and serve as metaphors for society. The "system" is portrayed as the system. It works for some, but fails for many more.

In the end, the boys don't fulfil their dreams. Yet, they have no regrets. In fact they are probably mad at themselves, because they let so many people down. We see that the two of them have become strong men that fear nothing and have the potential for everything. The two of them don't take anything for granted anymore, as they try to get their education. In the end there is hope. Hope, that tomorrow will be better than today. The ending is not sad, but satisfying as the chapters in the Agee and Gates' families come to a close. We should feel proud to witness the growing up of these young men, and that this family allowed us into their lives.

There is no doubt that Hoop Dreams is the greatest documentary ever made. It is probably one of the greatest films of this decade, if not of all time. When Hoop Dreams was released a few years ago, it was snubbed by the Oscars. It was not nominated for best picture, nor best documentary. Instead, it was nominated for best editing (which it lost to Forrest Gump). This was a slap in the face to the filmmakers and to the Agee and Gates families, because this great film has virtually gone unnoticed among the steady stream of Hollywood movies. Hoop Dreams is not a movie; it is a Film. Capital F. But most of all, it is a masterpiece that no Hollywood director could ever make up.