Professional boxer Gary “Tiger” Balletto is trying to unionize his fellow boxers and get them health insurance and other worker benefits. His friend Derek Fleming, a bookie, is really a “nice guy” who’d rather be a “wise-guy” even though he denies it. Together, they anchor a dazzlingly sumptuous and reflective study of Italian life and culture in contemporary American society. Set in Providence, Rhode Island, this feature-length documentary is character study and cultural analysis all at once. With a frenetic and addictive visual style, Sweet Dreams follows the lives of working-class ethnic Americans without reducing its subjects to stereotypes or clichés. Here is a boxing movie like no other you’ve ever seen—about the battles of everyday life, the challenges of raising a family, and the aspirations of success that still keep citizens of all colors chasing after The American Dream.  JJ