Attitude (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version) DVD Region 3

By local basketball standards, Taiwan's SBL can already be considered very successful. Certainly, few regions in Asia have a professional basketball league that is so relevant in mainstream popular culture. SBL games get primetime coverage on ESPN, and are frequented by screaming fangirls holding signs as if they're attending an idol concert. Pop stars regularly attend games, and air their team loyalties. There are a pocket of players that qualify as legitimate sports stars, with fans who have followed them since their high school and college ball days. And there are players who have crossed over into the entertainment industry like popular host Blackie Chen - the league's loudest supporter, team consultant for Taiwan Beer, and producer of Attitude.

Attitude follows Taiwan Beer through the roller-coaster 2006-2007 season that crowned them SBL champions for the first time. Dubbed the "green miracle" by local media, Taiwan Beer - basketball teams in Taiwan take the names of their corporate benefactors - was actually on the verge of being disbanded in 2003 for being unwinning and unprofitable. Rebuilt from scratch in a few years' time, Taiwan Beer quickly earned a reputation for being the most explosive and unpredictable team in the league, both in play and in personality. Led by star player "The Beast" Lin Chih Chieh, Taiwan Beer surprised everyone by storming into the postseason in 2006, and coming heartbreakingly close to winning it all.

Attitude begins its story after the 2006 loss, documenting the team's determined journey to the postseason in 2007. The camera stays close through playtime, practice sessions, locker-room antics, personal tragedies, flaring tempers, and even some scandal (the team made headlines for coming to fists with the Korean team during an international match). In the spirit of ESPN human interest stories, there's also zoom-in coverage of the players and a touching segment about a terminally ill fan who dedicated his remaining time to supporting local basketball. Blackie Chen provides the narration for the film, and he is predictably forward, dramatic, and sentimental about his love for Taiwan basketball and the team that he pumps so much time and money into without any expectation of return. Certainly, the documentary's occasional self-reflective sappiness is understandable considering the fact that basketball can get players a lot of attention in Taiwan, but not much of a future.

Attitude is eye-opening if you associate basketball stardom with NBA salaries and egos. Despite being one of Taiwan's most well-known players, forward Ho Shou Ching can't afford to buy an apartment in a building with an elevator so that his elderly father doesn't have to struggle up and down the stairs. The team rents a rundown court for practice, and the coach is worried to not even have that. Money is modest even for the league's top dogs, and player contracts are often short and non-binding. Indeed, one of the most coveted spots in the league is playing with the Bank of Taiwan Basketball Team, because a stable stint could translate into a bank job.

The documentary itself is a lot like the team - messy, sentimental, trendy, raw, tenacious. Directed by Leo Liao and Mardy Lin - the hot-blooded troublemakers behind the outrageous Channel V reality show Circus Action - Attitude does look and sound like some kind of ESPN-Channel V crossover project with its flashy editing, pop soundtrack, and cheesy voiceovers, but it also succeeds in capturing the athletes' experiences and perspectives and the "Attitude" that drives players and fans to love the game.

Released in Taiwan in summer 2008 right after the team picked up their second consecutive championship, Attitude is a sure watch for SBL and Taiwan Beer fans like myself, but it should also appeal greatly to those interested in sports movies or Taiwan Cinema. Taiwan documentaries have been on the rise in the last few years, and this is a worthy entry to the genre, written in heart and sweat.