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Dir. Benson Lee
Rating: 7.4 | 0 User Reviews | Send to Friend
What started in the Bronx in the '70s as a new medium of physical expression became a commercialized fad in the '80s, eventually fading from mainstream appeal but never evaporating from the world of hip-hop or the hearts of its hardcore fans. Currently, b-boy's encapsulation of the world has ascended anew and one of its best representations is the annual international competition "Battle of the Year." Director Benson Lee's film chronicles the 2005 contest, as well as the lives of the best crews from the top countries: France, Korea, Japan and the United States. For these competitors, breakdancing is as crucial to them as oxygen, but it also remains a lifestyle their home countries, in the illustrious words of the Fresh Prince, "just don't understand." Poverty, class issues and familial disapproval are among the difficulties these young men and women (let us say very few women) face. The generational disconnect between their youthfully fervent dreams and societal practicality is most telling in the interviews with the dancers and their families, specifically their parents. But, then, the Battle is a way to overcome it all, a way to achieving notice in ways their families could finally begin to understand, at least for a suspended headspin in time. Although Lee draws out the action of the competition longer than necessary, his portrayal of these artists is candid and emotional, revealing them as more than a bunch of dreamers hopelessly looking to make the big time or a simple sidewalk act.
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