Planet B-Boy (2007), directed by Benson Lee, is a documentary about what is popularly known as break dancing. The film follows several groups from around the world -- Japan, Korea, France, Germany & the USA -- as they prepare for Battle of the Year, the world cup of b-boying. Each group has a history, and a few individual stories are featured.
Documentaries on niche subjects can shock and amaze. They do so by showing the extremes people go to in order to pursue a dream, be it crossword puzzles (Wordplay, 2006) or spelling bees (Spellbound, 2002). Planet B-Boy does this for dance. For example, one Korean group practices from 12AM until 5AM, until they literal fall asleep on the group, exhausted.
Breaking started in the South Bronx in the 1970's among the poor, and in the film there were groups from poor areas or small towns. Their success shows that breaking remains an accessible dance form. It has fluid definitions that encourages innovation and individual style, and this is what makes breaking a powerful dance form.
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