I saw this film about two months ago and tried to post a comment right afterwards, but the movie was not on IMDb, so I was glad to check later on and see that it is now available. My wife and I try and hit the Cinema Paradiso a couple times a month. They play a variety of underground films as well as classic films. There was a group of festival films playing one weekend so we decided to try and catch a few. We left the theater amazed by it's brilliance. I never had watched a documentary like this. Not only taken by it's sheer power, but also by it's warmth and love for the people it documented. I laughed, I cried, and I times I felt pain (although I will not say why).
I love boxing films, (ala Rocky, Raging Bull, Cinderella Man) and I will not dare say that this is a boxing film due to the fact that there is so much more beyond boxing in the world of the characters. If you've seen it, you know what I mean. However, I will say, when it is a boxing film, it is the best I have seen. The fight scenes are strung together in such a brilliant, powerful and poetic way, that each fight feels unique in it's style and approach. And of course, it's real. I may not be a filmmaker, but this movie is fantastic in it's art-form, unlike any documentary I have seen. I was hoping after the movie that the filmmaker was present so I could shake his hand.
This film is a little bit of Hoop Dreams, a little bit of On The Ropes and some Harlem County USA meshed in one beautiful movie. After the movie was over there was a heavy round of applause and much talk of it outside the theater. I will say this, this movie deserve to be played at a cineplex, and I hope it does. I can't wait to see the film again, and look forward to owning it on DVD someday. And if by any chance the filmmaker reads this, I want to say thank you for Sweet Dreams.
