Q Ball

Splitting its time fairly evenly between on-the-court action and soulful subject interviews, this film effectively and movingly demonstrates the healing power of teamwork and positive thinking. Directed by Michael Tolajian and executive-produced by Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant, Q Ball opens with an accidentally captured fight in the yard; it doesn't shy away from the horrors of violence, but it does so with caution and consideration. In his interview, Cuevas regretfully tells his story of killing Timothy Griffith outside Giants stadium in 2004, but he does it with a full awareness of his emotional state, what led to his actions, and knowledge of how not to tread that path again. Conversely, Griffith's mother states in her interview that Cuevas should never be forgiven. It's two sides of a bitter, complex coin, and Tolajian wisely shows them both.

But Smith is the main focus here; he's 31, his parole isn't far away, and his talent makes him the best hope to be "the first convicted felon to suit up in an NBA jersey." Regardless of whether that happens, Smith, whose fight with a drunken girlfriend led to a domestic abuse charge, is still a strong presence; he's even shown leading a church gathering and bringing the congregation to tears. If this documentary has a flaw, it's that the basketball sequences are edited as a series of random, nifty plays, instead of building the suspenseful narrative of an actual game. Otherwise, Q Ball is tremendously moving -- and tremendously hopeful.