THOUGH IT'S EASY to think of boxers as a bunch of unthinking, unemotional thugs, a couple of recent documentaries have shed light on the intelligence and emotional stability the sport actually demands. Shadow Boxers (screened earlier this year at SIFF) followed professional fighter Lucia Rijker as she used fortitude and Buddhism to find her way through boxing's male-dominated maze; When We Were Kings rescued Muhammad Ali from becoming a historical comic book character, and brought his amazing talents into sharp perspective.

A new contender in this genre is Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen's documentary, On the Ropes. Set in the impoverished Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, On the Ropes shatters preconceptions by using the local boxing gym and three of its fighters as examples of the determination of the neighborhood's residents. Noel Santiago, a 17-year-old Puerto Rican, never knew his father, and struggles to stay in school and away from drugs. Boxing brings order to his life, but after a devastating loss in the ring, Noel's life threatens to tip back into the abyss.

One of his mentors is George Walton, a terrific fighter with the tenacity and prowess of a Mike Tyson; but as George makes the transition from amateur to professional, he finds himself tested by the big business of boxing, and is forced to choose between money and loyalty to the gym. The film's third subject is Tyrene Manson -- whose situation is perhaps the most desperate. Dealing with two adopted cousins, a crack-addicted uncle, an eviction notice, and a trumped-up cocaine charge, Tyrene sees boxing not only as her way out, but as her last chance for self-worth.

At the center of this story is the Bed-Stuy gym's trainer, Harry Keitt, himself a recovering addict and surrogate father to all his fighters. However, Harry is likewise riddled with self-doubt, and struggles for redemption. These stories might sound ham-handed, but the direction is deft and filled with such nuance that you feel for the characters without ever feeling manipulated. In the end, this "boxing film" is more a story of humanity, as the determination and focus developed inside the ring is applied to life.

Life on the Ropes

Life on the Ropes