Many of Frederick Wiseman’s documentaries peer at an institution to unpack multiple stories about what they are and how they function. This one is a dance. Leaving aside the win/lose struggles baked into boxing, Wiseman focuses his camera on the manifold patrons of a workaday gym in Texas and watches them move, shadows them through the sweaty rituals of the sport, catches bits of chat as they warm up or cool down. It’s perhaps his most simply beautiful and inspiring film.
2010 Frederick Wiseman Color DCP 91 min.
