Red Bull BC One is a yearly international b-boy competition which was first held in 2004. The highlight of the BC One competition are the knockout battles in which 16 b-boys go head to head, after which the winner goes home with the title and a big belt. Red Bull places the battles online each year and they show the skills of the best b-boys in the world. Turn It Loose covers the BC One of 2007 but besides focussing on the battles themselves, they also show where the different competitors come from and they tell something about their own background. So this documentary is more than just spectacular battles.
The competitors come from all parts of the world: Japan, America, France, Algeria, South Korea and Hong Kong. For this documentary the dancers were filmed in their home country and tell a lot about their backgrounds and their reasons for competing in the BC One (which was held in South Africa in 2007) and what it means to them. It shows the diversity of cultures and the personal situations the b-boys are in. Taisuke, who is Japanese, moved away from his parents to live in Tokyo and practise. Lilou, who already won in 2005, turns out to be struggling with his identity a lot. He lives in France, but is originally from Algeria and doesn’t feel like he’s home in either country. Because there is also a lot of focus on the personal stories it makes the battles themselves mean that much more, because you know how important it is for them to win.
Turn It Loose manages to capture both the success and drama of the battles. The pressure is extremely high before the battle and it sometimes gets to them (like one of them throwing up before he had to go on stage). It also shows how much time is spent on their passion. The battles themselves are spectacular and are enough reason to see Turn It Loose.
Score: 8
Trailer
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM–NkBi7Ms]