{"id":262,"date":"2011-05-15T22:49:38","date_gmt":"2011-05-16T02:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/beginnersheart\/?p=262"},"modified":"2011-05-16T09:41:16","modified_gmt":"2011-05-16T13:41:16","slug":"louder-than-a-bomb-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/beginnersheart\/2011\/05\/louder-than-a-bomb-review.html","title":{"rendered":"Louder Than a Bomb review ~"},"content":{"rendered":"

A mic. A stage. A pen. A page. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>You don\u2019t have to be a poet to love Louder Than a Bomb<\/em>, a documentary of the 2008 Chicago Louder Than a Bomb youth poetry slam competition. Although it\u2019s certainly a poet\u2019s movie: scored by poets, written by and about poets, filmed by directors\/producers with poetic hearts.<\/p>\n

The prize-winning film (a large handful of Best awards, including Portland International Film Festival\u2019s Best New Directors) follows four teams and several individuals through the months leading up to the slam competition\u2019s final rounds. While the story alone is worth the price of admission \u2013 drama, heartbreak, laughter and totally compelling characters \u2013 the poetry (like the ad says) is priceless.<\/p>\n

Some movies break your heart. You watch them anyway, knowing that the story is larger than difficulty, larger than losing or winning. This is a movie about that moment when one dream dominated your life \u2013 when you wanted something so badly you were willing to do whatever it took, no matter how hard, no matter who said it wouldn\u2019t happen. This is a story that demands we watch, listen and remember.<\/p>\n

The students profiled are not ordinary. But this is also a teacher’s movie, and any teacher can tell you: no student is like any other. These students, however, as J\u00e9sus from Steinmetz says, \u2018live for poetry.\u2019 Working together, memorizing lines, ceding the stage to someone who\u2019s felt to be a superior performer\u2026 This is teamwork and artistry and family, as another of the young poets argues.<\/p>\n