Soul in the Hole

The annual street basketball championships mark the beginning of another long hot summer in Brooklyn, and Kenny's Kings, with their young star 'Booger', are the team on everybody's lips. It's impossible not to think of the cross-over documentary hit Hoop Dreams, and it isn't just the basketball which rings bells, for Booger is the pride of the streets and destined for college, if he can just survive them. This differs, however, in its pulse and attitude: it remains raw and unsanitised, and refuses to clean up its subjects or its soundtrack. The result is a compelling (if sometimes incoherent) piece which is intelligent enough to recognise that the real star here is coach Kenny Jones, who beneath the swagger is one of those genuine local heroes who rarely receive the glory.