This is one of the year's best films, and one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Don't be misled by the title's implication that this is a film for racing fans. This is much more about dreams, and is a film for families and anyone dealing with young teens at this crucial turning point in their lives. Director Marshall Curry is a talent to watch. He skillfully captures the tension, drama and subtext of his subjects, without crossing into an emotional manipulation of his audience. I concur with the unanimous praise bestowed upon Racing Dreams by the 20+ national reviewers on the RottenTomatoes website, who have given the film a 100% fresh ranking, the year's best score! Racing Dreams
I have always disliked oval racing and still do BUT.... This is different!!! If you hate American oval racing you need to watch this. This doc really opened my eyes to what these young drivers work towards. The passion these kids have is amazing and I felt like I was 11 again. The three children in this film are all very gifted and will be very good racers. A definite 5 stars! Please make a sequel so I can see how they do in those awesome cars!!!
Filmmaker Marshall Curry follows three young go-kart race drivers for 12 months in "Racing Dreams", a documentary with more interesting people, drama, and insight than I've seen in a fictional film in a long time. Annabeth Barnes is 11 years old and wants to be the first woman to win the Daytona 500. Josh Hobson is a 12-year-old perfectionist. Brandon Warren is a daredevil 13-year-old. All aspire to be NASCAR drivers. And all compete in 5 races over the course of a year for the World Karting Association's (WKA) National Pavement Series. The driver with the most points at the end of the 5th race wins. Barnes and Hobson are junior class racers. Warren is in the senior class.
The racing looks like a lot of fun, even though these youngsters take it very seriously. These are the races that will launch their careers. They're driven, disciplined and savvy about sponsors and marketing. Go-kart racing is expensive, and stock car and Formula One racing will be even moreso. We see the pressure this puts on working class families who have talented and ambitious children. The filmmakers were able to get incredible access to the personal and professional lives of the drivers and their families. Cameras followed these people around for a year. As a result, the drivers are able to narrate their story without doing so consciously. They are rarely "interviewed"; they are recorded.
The families offer their perspectives on their children's ambitions. They are caught up in their children's racing dreams to various degrees but always with a mind to doing what they can to provide the kids with the opportunity to fulfill those dreams. These parents aren't especially pushy or "stage mothers", which is refreshing, but it does take a great deal of time, energy, and money to keep their kids in racing form. "Racing Dreams" is a fascinating look at the world of serious go-kart racing. It's also an intimate look at three young people at a pivotal time in their lives. Depictions of young people in the media tend to be insulting, but Marshall Curry has assumed that these kids have interesting lives and things to say. And so they do.
The DVD (Hannover House 2010): "Where Are They Now?" (text) tells us what the racers have done since they made the film. "Q/A with the Kids" (12 min) has some clips from the film's premiere and several question and answer sessions with the three racers when they were 15 years old. Also interviews with some family members about the film. "Q/A with director Marshall Curry (11 min) is an interview in which Curry talks about the idea for the film, how he chose the kids, shooting, and the families. There is also a theatrical trailer (2 ½ min) and 3 deleted scenes (5 min). No subtitles.
I'm not a racing or Nascar fan by any measure, so I almost passed on watching RACING DREAMS with the family last weekend. But what a pleasant surprise! Yes, the film is set against the world of youth-Kart racing, but it's more of a film about youngsters finding their life paths and the struggles of being teenagers. Moments are very touching, others are very funny. Overall this is a Grade A+ film!
A Spellbound or Mad Hot Ballroom for the NASCAR set, Racing Dreams ends up speeding past its niche market and working its magic on anyone with a rooting interest in the dreams and ambitions of this country's youth. - Family Films - Nascar - Documentary Films - Racing'
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