Double D-Day, Documentaries not “tits, jugs, hooters or cans” ladies and gents, furthermore no Germans were harmed during the watching of these films – Day 6 Gothenburg International Film Festival, Part 1 of 20

Ah, a day full of good old, educational documentaries. One about basketball and one about organic living/farming, I sense a strong correlation there between the subject materials!

Adam Yauch‘s Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot (2008) was the first of the two documentaries watched. It’s pertinent to point out that I’ve seen a few basketball documentaries in my time, and this really is no Hoop Dreams (1994). In fact, I obsessively played the game, ignoring girls and the other pleasures of adolescents, throughout my high school years. I should by all intensive purposes feel a certain connection with Yauch’s documentary, but I simply don’t. There are some brilliant moments and aspects to the film, of course the music is “phat”, and the game played at the end between the superstars is brilliantly highlighted with sounds and slow motion, for a basketball fan. There is also an interesting editing aspect involving Google and website info that is used in a very eye catching manner to lend some info into the players. That’s about it though, much more aesthetically pleasing then content engaging.

There simply is no depth or time laid down on the individual players journeys that would have turned this into an interesting documentary. We get the feeling that they all hail from extremely varying geographical and class based environments but this contrast is never pushed to its proper level. The potential salvaging point on this matter is the fact that a European audience here gains a quick overview and appreciation into how fundamentally different America is from place to place. The tendency is to lump it altogether, typically with a critical eye, which is one of the most retarded things I’ve dealt with during my 8 year tenure here, so props to the film for this angle.

It’s a documentary worth watching for sports fans, beyond I think that it would probably wear anyone else out about half way through, with the game at the end being the final nail in the “I’ve fallen asleep” coffin.