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PLANET B-BOY
Directed by Benson Lee
Produced by Amy Lo & Lee
Director of Photography, Vasco Lucas Nunes
Edited by Jeff Marcello & Lee
Music by Woody Pak
Released by Arts Alliance America
USA. 95 min. Not Rated
Special Features: "More on B-Boying" featurette. Photo gallery

Hey South Bronx, the Asians stole breakdancing! Go get them, or at least catch up, because these South Korean and Japanese boys are pushing the almost three-decades-old art form to its breathtaking limit. For the past few years, their gravity-defying one-arm handstands, lightning speed head spins, and artful choreography have dominated the Battle of the Year, the annual b-boying (as breakdancing was originally called) competition documented in this high-energy flick.

Out of the shockingly diverse b-boy groups (from Las Vegas to Latvia), Planet B-Boy zeros in on the top five breakdancing brigades, following them from their homes to Germany, where the 2005 battle was held. Challenging the acrobatically unrivaled Asians (one group from Japan and two from South Korea) are the French, noted for their rhythm, and the Americans, the original homeboys trying to take back the crown.

The classically-executed documentary splices heart-pumping performances – in practice sessions, street shows, and at the competition itself – with vignettes of family interviews. While one Korean b-boy wants to earn his father’s respect by winning for his country, a Japanese b-boy learns to channel his grief over his father’s recent death through this surprisingly emotive dance form. Though sincere enough to be touching, these emotional interludes remain light, even funny, and never hijack the film. But best of all, they inch us closer to these criminally charming young men – all smiles, hot bods, and delightful dispositions.

As cute as they are, the essence of the film is not the boys but their mode of self-expression, the electrifying dance phenomenon that continues to unite a wildly international group of youths in the name of hip-hop culture. Using graffiti graphics to segue through scenes and a pumping playlist that makes sitting through the film a challenge, Planet B-Boy captures the essence of the music and the dynamics of the dance. This is a film that should be praised for recognizing the value of its subject matter without stepping on its toes with intricate cinematic tricks. After all, when the show is as good as this one, all you have to do is point the camera and shoot. 
March 18, 2008

DVD Extra: An extra half-hour of interviews with some of the b-boy legends who saw the phenomena develop from the first back spin in the mid-’70s. Trac2, Ken Swift, and token white guy Mr. Freeze wax nostalgic about the excitement of the emerging form on the streets of the Bronx and its speedy commercialization in the 1980s. They speak with wide eyes and insuppressible passion about performing in neighborhood crews at block parties one day, and seeing themselves in Flashdance and commercials the next. Just as quickly as breakdancing was discovered (first mentioned in The Village Voice in 1980), suddenly, in the ’90s, it became passé. The original b-boys hypothesize that the media killed it with overexposure and 30-second ads which couldn’t possible capture the culture and the art. But just as it faded on the East Coast, the Asians and Europeans took the torch and spun with it. Yana Litovsky
November 12, 2008