Every March in Chicago, hundreds of students from around the Chicagoland area gather for the largest high school poetry slam competition in the world. It's called Louder Than a Bomb.

Now directors Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel (son of the late Gene Siskel of Siskel and Ebert fame) bring you a documentary titled after the event, "Louder Than a Bomb."

And it is.

At least it felt like a creative explosion to me. I dragged my feet to watch it, thinking poetry and rap were not my thing. But the competition isn't about rap at all, though some of its competitors rap as well. It's about young poets finding themselves and each other through artistic expression.

The talent of these kids is mind-blowing. If watching them gear up to compete, hearing what Louder Than a Bomb has come to mean in their lives, and especially listening to the amazing poetry they write doesn't melt your heart just a little bit, well, that's some heart you've got there.

"Louder Than a Bomb" moved me to tears, got me cheering alone in my living room (I saw it on DVD), and made me laugh out loud. I love this movie for what it says about teen potential and the primo value of mutual support. And I loved the incredibly moving poetry these kids created, laying their lives out there for judgment. That takes guts and heart.

The movie pits better-off kids from suburban schools like Oak Park/Lake Forest against inner-city kids from troubled schools like Steinmetz Academic Center. Jacobs and Siskel focus on four schools and one lead performer at each of those schools as they cover the 2007-08 poetry slam season.

Adam is a Jewish kid going to a college prep school. Nova, from Oak Park/Lake Forest, cares for a little brother with autism and other challenges. Lamar, from Steinmetz, is climbing out of a life of inner-city violence and learning to express what's inside him. Nate, a funny, gifted black kid from a middle-class family, went from being the target of bullies to being a star at a competition with all kinds of cool cred.

The movie reminded me of "Spellbound," a documentary from a few years back about competitors in the National Spelling Bee. Like that movie, this one does a remarkable job of introducing us to key characters in the competition and guessing shrewdly who will be in the running as the championships approach.

But unlike that movie, this one is about artistic creativity.

The kids get scores from 1 to 10 points, like Olympic skaters, from a panel of five judges who hold up little white boards. But somewhere along the way you stop caring about the scores and just marvel, slack-jawed, at the raw talent of these kids and the raw slices of life they share with their audience.

Contact the writer:

402-444-1269, bob.fischbach@owh.com