EIFF 2009: Turn it Loose

When you meet Alistair Siddons, director of this B-boy documentary, you can’t help but think he’s an unlikely candidate for the job; English, quiet and polite, he’s about as ‘street’ as your grandma. And yet there’s no doubt his film successfully enters the world of the globe’s top 16 B-boy dancers, gathering at the Red Bull BC One, the ultimate competition as far as the culture is concerned. Following a few key players through the rounds, a real sense of their individuality comes across, and slowly but surely you begin to silently root for your favourite. Needless to say, the dancing itself is breath-taking; fast paced and energetic, it makes your feet twitch in sympathy. Overall the film would have benefited from an expansion on the actual techniques themselves, however; unless you’re involved in the scene it can be hard to realise just exactly how astounding and individual such displays are, and they begin to run one into the other. Either way, Turn it Loose is entertaining and promisingly well-made.