The best thing about Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot, the new documentary that shows at DIFF three times Tuesday and once Thursday: Its spirit dwells far from the star-struck, officially mandated corporate entertainment mandate of the NBA. In profiling one of the league's all-time greats, the Mavericks' humble superstar Dirk Nowitzki, The Perfect Shot stays close to its roots, and to Dirk's.
This is a German film, directed by Sebastian Dehnhardt, and it takes welcome detours from the usual hagiographic rise-to-success tone of officially licensed product. We hear the star speak in his native tongue a majority of the time. We find out what makes Nowitzki's mentor, Holger Geschwindner, tick and tinker like a mad scientist. And we realize just how unique this sharpshooting seven-footer really is.
Locals might cringe a little at the persistent rodeo motif (the Stockyards, as you may know, are over in Fort Worth), but let's not quibble. The Perfect Shot is a welcome and eccentric addition to the rapidly growing field of sports documentary. A word of warning: All four screenings - 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, and 4:30 p.m. Thursday, all at the Angelika Dallas - have reached rush status. That means show up early, get in line and hope.
The Dallas International Film Festival runs April 9-22 at multiple venues (most screenings at the Angelika Dallas, 5321 East Mockingbird Lane, Suite 230, in Mockingbird Station). For information on schedule, tickets and passes visit dallasfilm.org.
