Search - The Boys of 2nd Street Park on DVD

Learn About the Brighton Beach Subculture from the Young Mal

L.A. Scene | Indian Trail, NC USA | 12/31/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I was a child, some of my best memories were going to my grandparents apartment building that sat on the border of where Brighton Beach met Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York Not only was it exciting to have an ocean view from their apartment and have Coney Island from within a stone's throw, but it just was a very interesting place to be. Brighton Beach tended to have a very interesting subculture and even under the age of 10, I managed to pick things up whenever people visited my grandparents house. This also included my young Uncle's friends - who were most definitely fans of the Grateful Dead. When I learned there was a documentary film that explored this subculture, I could not rush out fast enough to find a copy of this DVD. This DVD "The Boys From 2nd Street Park" does an outstanding job at capturing the subculture of the Brighton Beach area. It documents the story of a group of friends who grew up in Brighton Beach in the late 1960s through early 1970s - and eventually traces their lives into adulthood. Even if you aren't familiar with the whole Brighton Beach scene in Brooklyn, this is a very interesting movie and should still capture your interest.

To get a better appreciation for the setting of the movie, one should know a little about the Brighton Beach area. Brighton Beach sits just east of Coney Island. Like Coney Island, it originally was developed as a resort area. In the 1920s, with the subway already accessing the area, a major residential development effort got underway in Brighton Beach. Many apartment buildings were constructed and commercial business also came to the area. This resulted into two things - 1) It would lead to what would become one of the more densely populated areas in all of New York City; 2) It would also lead to what would become an ethnic melting pot - although the Jewish, Russian, and Ukrainian populations would be the most prevalent. Unfortunately this would also lead to an urban decline that would happen in the area in the late 1970s.

The densely populated area - being located in close proximity of the beach made it easy for groups of kids to get together. In "The Boys from Second Street Park", we meet a group of boys who got together in a park located on second street in Brighton Beach. We learn that these boys used to play basketball together in the park. As a result they struck up a friendship. In particular there are several themes that are explored and we see how this affects the boys as they grow into adulthood.

-Getting Together as Boys in the Park: This really sets the unifying theme for the movie. We learn how the boys got into basketball and we see how they struck up their initial friendships. We also get to understand the families they are from. In particular, there is a moving account of a father who spent time in a German prison camp during the holocaust.

-Playing Basketball for Abraham Lincoln High School: Lincoln High School is a high school power when it comes to sports. Much of this is because it resides in the Brighton Beach Area and can draw from the densely populated area. We learn how the boys who would play in the park become High School basketball players. There is a great account when they have to travel into a black neighborhood and play High School Basketball power Boys High School.

-Graduating High School and going off to different colleges and dealing with the military draft. The part of the military draft is covered extremely well. We get an account of one of the boys who gets an exemption of military service due to psychological reasons. We get another account of one of the boys who actually goes get drafted.

-The Drug Scene: This is probably one of the best parts of the movie. From someone who has spent time in this neighborhood during the early 1970s, I can testify that much of what they talked about was very prevalent. The movie does an outstanding job at accounting for this and telling how this affected the boys. We learn the story of how one of the boys loses his life due to drugs. We learn another account on how drugs destroys the life of another boy.

-Bridging into Adulthood: We see how one of the boys fell in love and got married early. He accounts for a cross-country trip for his honeymoon and he takes his friends. We also learn how one of the boys learned his father died.

-Dealing with Problems Later in Life: We learn how one of the boys learns his daughter had Down's Syndrome and another boy has a son who has Leukemia. This along with the drug story is another powerful part of the movie.

-Reunion: At the end, we see the friends who used to play in the park reunite some thirty years late.

While these are some of the main themes - many other stories are explored (too numerous to list). I read in some of the other reviews that the storyline is often choppy - but with this type of documentary dealing with multiple people's stories, I'm not sure what else could have been done. There are two topics I would have liked to have seen explored more in this film: 1) Some more information on the Russian Mafia - which reportedly had an influence in Brighton Beach; 2) The decline of the neighborhood in Brighton Beach. These elements would have completed the giving a good feel for Brighton Beach.

There is outstanding music to compliment the stories and the timeframes covered in this documentary. I realize I speak from a personal standpoint, but I really feel this is an excellent documentary. Whether you know Brighton Beach or not, it's definitely worth checking out."