The Other Dream Team

Filmmaker Marius A. Markevicius's inspiring documentary The Other Dream Team looks at Lithuania's love for basketball (from the 1930s up to the present day), connecting that near-obsession to the Baltic country's post-World War II absorption into the Soviet Union, which was most definitely a shotgun marriage. While most of the populace suffered severely under Soviet domination, one group of young Lithuanian men—who excelled on the court—earned special privileges. In fact, the Soviet basketball team that defeated the USA at the 1988 Seoul Olympics featured four starters from Lithuania. Cut to 1990, when the Lithuanian separatist movement became the elected government and declared independence—one of the first stages in the disintegration of the USSR. Lithuanian players living abroad formed a team to represent their newly-liberated homeland at the upcoming 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, and the Grateful Dead—no less—became team sponsors. The Lithuanians faced the possibility of having to take on America's so-called Dream Team, which they eventually did. The Other Dream Team bounces easily between sports and politics, juggling newly-shot footage (including interviews with players and politicians) with archival material to excellent effect. A rare documentary likely to appeal to both sports fans and history junkies—truly a win-win—this is recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by writer-director Marius A. Markevicius and writer-producer Jon Weinbach, a Q&A with Markevicius and Weinbach (14 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a winning sports doc.] (F. Swietek)