Review of Minding the Gap

Minding the Gap follows the lives of three young men who share a passion for skating. It's not long until we find out that skating is a way for them to escape from their troubled home lives. This is such a deeply intimate documentary, made with a real yearning to show something to the world. Because of all the heart it was made with, everything captured is so enticing. Documentaries often feel like documentaries, that feels like quite an obvious thing to say but that is usually why a lot of people choose not to watch them. However, this film doesn't feel like a documentary, and the fact it is makes it very shocking and overwhelming at times because you are taken on such a moving journey. These are real people therefore everything we see is true, that's the obvious thing, but everything we see in Minding the Gap is raw and completely unfiltered and it's so special. It presents everything as it is and doesn't try to be a certain way which is the key as to why it is so captivating. You can't hate the characters because you know their struggle yet of course they are not perfect. I think that's why I'm starting to love documentaries like this: when you watch a film characters often fall into a good or bad category so you love them or hate them, of course cinema has a wide expanse and that includes characters so therefore we still love and identify with characters who have flaws or we love the villain because they're just so damn good. With documentaries however they are real people not trying to be like anyone or not trying to represent anything, therefore you cant love them or hate them you just accept them and digest what they have to show. It makes you learn more about the human experience, people in the world and that I think is so amazing. I don't like the term eye-opening really because it does sound kind of patronising, our eyes should be opened to everything really, but this film does make you think and will definitely stir up your emotions. Worth the watch just so so much.