Hoop Dreams (1994)

Roger Ebert called Hoop Dreams the best film of the 90s. Not the best documentary, mind you, but just straight-up the best film of the entire decade. I wouldn’t go that far (perhaps Roger was swayed by the way Hoop Dreams evocatively, if harshly, captured his beloved Chicago), but this is undoubtedly an amazing film. Hoop Dreams masterfully explores a seemingly unexceptional topic (two talented inner-city youths dreaming of basketball stardom) in epic scope: the access we’re granted into these boy’s lives is astounding. Director Steve James followed his subjects for five years, recorded 250 hours of footage, and witnessed scenes of unbelievable triumph and heartbreaking pain. You absolutely do not have to like basketball to like this movie – you merely need to have a vested interest in the human condition.