By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Alistair Christopher | Jonathan Hock
Country: united_states
Year: 2006
Running time: 103
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457502/
Bruce says: “Today’s Horatio Algers are athletes who have produced at the high school level and are perceived to have the goods that will make them stars in the big leagues. Not much of a basketball fan, even I was aware of LeBron James signing a $95 million dollar contract with a sneaker manufacturer while still a teenager and ultimately landing another $60 million NBA contract. Overnight he was among the richest men in America without having fulfilled his potential. THROUGH THE FIRE is about the pursuit of the American dream circa 2004. Sebastian Telfair is a young basketball star, from Lincoln High School in Coney Island, who folks think just might be the next big thing.
“Filmmaker Jonathan Hock invested many hours following Sebastian around. Although there is a brief interview with Rick Patino, renowned Louisville coach who hopes to lure Telfair to college basketball, most of the interviews are with Sebastian and his two older brothers, one of whom happens to be one of the Lincoln High basketball coaches. According to his brother, Sebastian first showed his promise at the age of six when he entered a game and began using moves instinctively, doing stuff he had never been taught to do. He was a natural.
“The family lives in Coney Island housing projects and has dreams of moving on to a better life. Hopes were once pinned on basketball star Jamel Thomas, Sebastian’s half-brother. He was rumored to be one of the top draft picks of the NBA but when the picks were announced his name was never called. The entire family still recalls the devastation they felt that horrible day. Now, all hopes of leaving the projects rest on Sebastian’s shoulders.
“THROUGH THE FIRE documents Sebastian’s journey through his high school, his key games in the quest for an unprecedented third straight New York City championship his senior year, and the hullabaloo over choosing between Louisville and the NBA. While his basketball skills are being honed his interpersonal and modeling skills are getting fine-tuned as well. We see him getting coached on speaking. My favorite scene in the film is Sebastian’s photo shoot on a trampoline set on a Coney Island pier. Sebastian is bouncing on the trampoline while handling the basketball. The result is wildly dramatic and very effective. No one would ever guess that the photo was shot on a trampoline rather than a gymnasium floor.
“Anyone who has seen HOOP DREAMS will not ever confuse it with this film. HOOP DREAMS has incredible drama, enough twists and turns to rival most narrative films. It also has ‘a voice’ that is decidedly lacking in THROUGH THE FIRE. Hock tells his story clearly and with a slight degree of suspense, but it is a story that doesn’t tell us much we don’t already know. 3 cats”