benson lee rocks!

when this film debuted in nyc, i got a ticket for the first show of the evening...not realising that benson lee himself was in the audience and that he'd be answering questions after the film! if you love b-boying/breaking, this is the film you need to see. it's not a bunch of hollywood hype. it's not a watered down version of the real thing. it's not a bunch of "cute" hollywood neophytes miming moves that real b-boys taught them. this is the real deal. the dance crew sets are phenomenal to say the least, but some of the most moving parts of the film are the interviews with the korean team (last for one) and the japanese team (ichigeki). it shows, not only the technical skill and raw talent of the breakers, but also some of the unbelievable odds they've faced to get where they are. it shows not only the love that the breakers have for the artform, but also how their dance has affected their families and (what some of the b-boys never knew until they were interviewed with their families) how much their parents deeply respect the artform and how proud they are of their children for following their passion. it's a beautiful film. full stop.

the thing i learned from benson lee himself was that he chose the five crews that would be followed almost at random. he didn't take a survey of all the crews and pick the best. he didn't film all the crews and edit down to the five most compelling stories. he picked the five teams that he liked best and that represented a survey of worldwide b-boying. benson lee shot everything with one camera crew at a time. so it wasn't five crews in five countries shooting the lead up to the competition. it was benson and a few people dropped in a country, calling up a b-boy contact to get them a place to stay and help translate. period. what benson lee accomplished with this film is nothing short of a revelation. his efforts and the outcome are to be loudly applauded.