Intimate, funny, moving and incredibly rousing -- even if you're allergic to sports movies.

A rousing and mesmerizing documentary.

Sports movies have a purity of form. They always end with the big game, in triumph or heartbreak. So does The Heart of the Game, although the lawsuit still hangs over the team after the final free throw.

It's a wrenching, ennobling essay on teamwork and the hard struggle to change one's life.

This distaff "Hoop Dreams" is less of an epic than the earlier movie, and less deep, but it's got more sunshine, too.

If you or any kid over the age of 10 has even a half-interest in the definition of the word "teamwork," as well as the words "real-life suspense," this is the movie.

It captures an authentic feel-good spirit and inspirational message that most Hollywood movies barely approximate.

The film is a furious full-court press, its subjects aflame with the kind of passion only youth can furnish.

This documentary (like the fact-based 2004 feature Miracle) demonstrates how powerful true sports stories can be when they delve into the mystery of leadership instead of falling back on nostalgia.

An exhilarating story of loyalty and perseverance, The Heart of the Game succeeds as both inspiration and social commentary.

Combines nonstop action with an absorbing story to become a classic on par with "Hoosiers" and "Hoop Dreams."

It's a good bet for youth audiences (the PG-13 rating is for one instance of language) and finds plenty of thought-provoking subject matter courtside.

Serrill has shot and edited The Heart of the Game in straightforward documentary style, with a narration by the rapper and actor Ludacris. But the dramas going on here, on and off the court, more than make up for any lack of flash.

The end result is an interesting documentary that is as unpolished and gutsy as the championship-caliber high school hoop stars at the other end of his camera.