Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

MartinHafer "The Other Dream Team" is about Lithuanian basketball from the mid-1980s to today--with a particular emphasis on how this all relates to Lithuanian independence from the old Soviet Union. It seems that this tiny nation was the backbone of the 1988 gold medal basketball team. But what would happen when the USSR fell apart? And, how would this new team help to unify the nation? The film consists of tons of interviews, film clips and photos. Together they tell an inspiring story. In many ways, this is highly reminiscent of another film---one about Lithuania's neighbor, Latvia. In "The Singing Revolution", it talks about this same time period--when these people in a tiny nation stood firm against their Soviet overlords. However, instead of basketball unifying the country, it was their heritage of music. Both are simply terrific films--the sort of well-crafted documentaries that leave you choked up. Great films about freedom and the human spirit.

claire-cec I had heard what this film was about, but really wasn't prepared for the history lesson I was about to receive. It was great! Since I am sort of a history buff, it was wonderful to hear true accounts from people who grew up in Lithuanian during this fight for Independence. To be honest, I didn't know much about Lithuanian history (or at least from this perspective), and I love to be shocked by documentaries. And shock me, it did. Along with the historical aspect in this film, you have an underdog (well, not athletically speaking – they were all very talented) sports story. These insanely tall, insanely talented Lithuanians were more than just a basketball team. They were revolutionaries fighting for their country. They weren't just playing basketball to play basketball; they were playing to prove a point. They felt they had to prove themselves not only to their adversaries, but also to their supporters that they were worthy and strong enough to be independent. And they used Olympic basketball to do that. This film is a brave story of freedom. It has a lovely combination of comedy, drama and suspense (even if you already know what happens), and you won't leave any screening of this documentary disappointed.

mgndyer As a casual basketball fan I only some what excited to see this documentary. But The Other Dream Team surpassed all of my expectations. It is a great story of an underdog team that has just want to make their country proud. The film had a lot of work to do to set up the long and complicated history of The Soviet Union and the smaller Eastern European countries, like Lithuania. I really enjoyed hearing the personal accounts of what it was like to grow up during the cold war and what it was like to be on the very strict Soviet Union national basketball team. It is also fun seeing an Olympic experience through the eyes of a country that is not the United States. Many people know the narrative of the 1992 US Basketball 'Dream' Team and this story of the Lithuanian National team only makes that years events more important. There are some amazing photos of the team over the years that were so fun. Especially all of the photos the team in the tye-dye shirts. So fun. I laughed, I cried. It was great.

bdgill12 It's fair to say that my two biggest passions in life (at least when it comes to pop culture, hobbies, etc.) are movies and sports. I'm a big fan of music, books, and eating large amounts of fatty foods, too, but they don't quite compare to the level of affection I hold for movies and sports, particularly basketball. The combinations of those two passions often feels like someone in the world is secretly reading my hypothetical diary at night and creating programming just for me. Such is the case with The Other Dream Team, a powerful and insightful documentary that I imagine will stick with me for quite some time.For many basketball fans, the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain are considered special, maybe even sacred, as the team assembled to represent the US Men's Olympic basketball team was unquestionably the greatest collection of talent in the history of the sport. Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and eight other legendary players (plus Christian Laettner!) came together to form the Dream Team, annihilating every opponent that stood in the way of earning the gold medal and spreading the gospel of basketball to the world along the way. But while the Dream Team captivated a worldwide audience, there was a much more dramatic and significant story unfolding in the background. A group of players representing the small country of Lithuania which had only recently regained its independence in the fall of the USSR worked their way into the third place game and faced off with the Unified Team, the remnants of the squad they had been forced to compete with during the Communist reign. Weaving together the happenings on the basketball court with the rebirth of a small nation, The Other Dream Team expertly displays the importance of sport and the ways it can be used to inspire.Going into this film, I had a basic understanding of what took place on the basketball court throughout this story. Like many other men my age, as a kid I was fascinated by the Dream Team. We'd never seen anything like that team and we never will again; they were literally that good. The Lithuanian team, though, always stuck out to me partly because they appeared to actually be good at basketball (whereas some of our other opponents looked like a bunch of middle school girls) and partly because their top two players, Arvydas Sabonis and Sarunas Marciulionis, were tremendous talents. In this summer's Olympics, virtually every team that qualifies to play will have at least one or two NBA-caliber players but in '92, that wasn't the case. Sabonis and Marciulionis, along with Croatia's Drazen Petrovic, were undoubtedly the best players in the tournament who weren't on the Dream Team. I did not know, however, the tumultuous background from which these players came from. At the time of the Olympic Games, Lithuania had only been an independent nation for two short years, two years which were trying to say the least. Amazingly enough, it's tough to get a new country off the ground when you've spent 46 years under Communist reign (shocking, I know). The Other Dream Team heartbreakingly digs into the deeper elements of this fight for independence and paints a dark (and truthful) picture of what it was like to live through this period, both before and after Lithuania received its freedom from the Soviets. There are some truly devastating visuals and descriptions at play here and the film pulls no punches in ensuring that the audience understands not only what the players were going through but what every citizen of the country was going through. As such, the Lithuanian basketball team is simply the medium in which the filmmakers work to bring their story together.By showing us the awful conditions which the players (and by proxy, their countrymen) lived through while under Soviet control and the immense struggle that was the fight for independence, director Marius A. Markevicius sets us up for a dramatic and deeply satisfying third act. Defeating the Russians to win the bronze medal was nothing compared to the hope their triumph gave a young nation and this is illustrated exquisitely through a mix of tear-inducing behind-the-scenes footage and touching interviews with both players and spectators. This is one of the more genuine sports documentaries I can remember and one that seems to really understand the significance of the subject matter it concerns itself with. It is a touching, at times quite funny, and beautiful example of the power of sport that will absolutely hit home for sports fans and non-fans alike. Please see my reviews at thesoapboxoffice.com