On the Ropes

Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy Boxing Center, the subject of this 1999 Sundance Film Festival prizewinning documentary from Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen, is an oasis in a squalid world. As female fighter Tyrene Manson observes, "I go to the gym. Then I come back to reality." For her, reality is public assistance, eviction, and a crack-addicted uncle with AIDS. When police raid the house they share, Tyrene finds her dreams of winning the Golden Gloves tournament in dire jeopardy. Noel Santiago, a scrawny high-schooler who's repeated the ninth grade three times, has potential but lacks discipline. Although boxing has steered him away from reefer and shoplifting ("Well . . . I still steal -- just not as much as I used to"), truancy and temptation keep him constantly at risk. George Walton (whose resemblance to a young Mike Tyson is uncanny) has already won the Golden Gloves and is looking to turn pro, but first he must navigate a maze of sometimes-duplicitous coaches, trainers, and agents.

The glue that holds Tyrene, Noel, and George together is trainer Harry Keitt, an aging ex-pugilist who lives vicariously through his pupils. Harry obviously cares about their success, but he's also in the game to fulfill his own failed dreams -- as he says, "George gets the belt, but I get respect." Like the legendary Hoop Dreams, On the Ropes is a superb documentary that doesn't cop out to easy answers or happy endings. Instead, this gritty and emotionally charged look at the inner city shows that in life, as in boxing, sometimes you have to take it on the chin.

-- Michael Miliard