In the late 1980’s, Chicago documentarian Steve James was commissioned by PBS to produce a half-hour short for television on the ambitions of two African-American boys and their dream to play professional basketball. Five years later, and with over 250 hours of footage accrued, James released Hoop Dreams, a 171-minute milestone of verité cinema.
The film offers not only the heart-in-mouth immediacy of that particular game, but a portrait of an entire system fuelling and feeding on the same dreams. Roger Ebert, the late film critic, immediately called it one of the best films on American life he’d ever seen, and Hoop Dreams has since been evaluated as one of the preeminent documentaries of all time.
Two decades and a rich catalogue of films later, the film critic who so fervently advocated for James’ debut is now incidentally the subject of his latest. James’ work has always been rooted in a fascination with ambition and adversity – exploring definitions of the American Dream through a variety of lenses – and Life Itself, an adaptation of Roger Ebert’s memoir of the same name and affectionate portrait of the world’s most influential film critic, is no exception to that tradition.
Life Itself is rooted in enough universal sentiment to resonate with anyone even mildly curious about the subject at hand.
It documents the various beats of a rich personal history including Roger’s alcoholism, professional rivalry, life-altering romance with his wife Chaz, and of course, the struggles with cancer, which eventually robbed him of his ability to talk. James’ crew is also [inadvertently] present for the final four months of Roger’s life; observing his buoyant, indomitable spirit right up until the end of it all.
Life Itself is a portrait rooted in the textures of life exactly: emotional, funny, difficult, heartbreaking, rich and supremely rewarding in turns. Flavoured with Roger’s wit and infectious essence, it’s a generous, unexpectedly pleasurable work and a fitting celebration of his legacy; and while some of that pleasure might admittedly come from my own vested interest in film criticism, Life Itself is rooted in enough universal sentiment to resonate with anyone even mildly curious about the subject at hand.
New Zealand’s “Documentary Edge Film Festival” commences this week in Auckland (and in early June for Wellington) and will be screening both Life Itself and a restored print of Hoop Dreams, accompanied by director Steve James (in Auckland only). I spoke to James before his upcoming visit and discussed Roger’s legacy, the debate around film criticism and his personal connection to his work. (Transcript available here.)
This content is brought to you with funding assistance from New Zealand On Air.
Cover Image: Kartemquin Films
