Alaskan Nets

Alaskan Nets Review: Doc Throws an ‘Alley-Oops’

If one was to place a stethoscope on the heart of the Metlakatla Native reserve, home to the Tsimshian people, chances are good the beating sound you would hear is that of a basketball bouncing on the ground. Located on a remote island off the coast of southeast Alaska, the people of Metlakatla define themselves by their love of basketball and fishing. As one observes in Jeff Harasimowicz’s documentary Alaskan Nets, which features actor Christ Pratt as an executive producer, these two things are as vital to the community as air is to human lungs.

While the two loves may seem like opposites from an outsider’s perspective, they are intricately woven together in the eyes of those who reside within Metlakatla. Fishing, for both commercial and subsistence purpose, has become the main source of income for many families in the community. The local high school students have ingrained in them within themselves the importance of providing for their families. As one teacher notes, every school project is related to fishing in some form.

It can be argued that going to school is a mere formality for many students if they have no career aspirations outside of being a fisher. Some would rather maintain their boats and fishing gears instead of attending math class. Of course, their teachers see it from a different perspective and struggle to convey that the world is full of opportunities outside of the waters of Metlakatla. What makes the near-sighted views troubling is the fact that the fishing industry has being sailing on rocky waters for several years. Climate change is impacting the fish supply, and solo diving for crab has led to several tragedies that haunt the island.

Considering the hardship that has fallen on the community, one can understand how the high school basketball team, the Metlakatla Chiefs, have become the coat racks that everyone is hanging their hopes on. Despite having only one state championship to their name, which was won thirty-four years ago, the Chiefs have amassed a rather loyal and rabid fan base–and one that has no qualms with texting the coach threats and other obscenities during the games.

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While the community clearly has a deep passion for their team, Harasimowicz’s documentary does not delve too deeply into the roots of this obsession. Instead, Alaskan Nets spends a good portion of the time following the Metlakatla Chiefs as they move from tournament to tournament in hopes of securing a spot in the elusive state championships. Focusing primarily on star players and cousins DJ King and Danny Marsden, the film attempts to convey the type of suspenseful on-the-court drama that one traditionally gets with sport documentaries.

Unfortunately, the level of emotional connection Harasimowicz shoots for falls short of hitting the rim. One does not get to know the players well enough to truly invest in their herculean ascent up the championship mountain. At one point in the film, the team’s coach stresses over a key injury that could derail the team’s chances. However, since the audience is not introduced to that player prior, one does not feel the tension of the bind the team is in. This sense of distance from the events echoes throughout. The viewer is often told the impact of something, such as a recent diving related death rocking the community, but never spends enough time with the residents of the reserve to grasp the depths of the sorrow with which they wrestle.

There are moments when Harasimowicz effectively links the pain of the outside world to the basketball court, such as the brilliant sequence where he transitions from King lost in thought to him snapping back to reality on the bench as the coach calls his name. Alaskan Nets could have used more moments like this scattered throughout. While the film conveys the healing power that basketball has over the people of Metlakatla, one craves more context to life in the community off the court and the various wounds that scarred them in the first place.

Alaskan Nets will be available on VOD and digital platforms April 8.



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