jamison
29 Apr 2007, 02:06 AM
I'm cross posting this from the US Fans & Travel forum to have more of a "movie" discussion here than a soccer discussion, and to let some of the movie types who might not cruise the USA forums know about it, as it has a lot of parts that weren't US related.
Note: this is a documentary currently showing at NYC's Tribeca Film Festival, in case you are wondering what in the name of fudge I'm talking about.
So, Flip & I caught the World Premiere of The Power of the Game (http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tixSYS/2007/filmguide/title-detail.php?AlphaRange=PP&ShowShorts=&ShowPast=Y), a documentary about six stories leading up to the 2006 world cup.
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tixSYS/2007/filmguide/images/filmstills/4551.jpg
It was a good, though not great film, but the world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival saw us sitting in the theater, four rows ahead of US Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati (yeah, we had better seats). (we gave him a brief "Huzzah", but in the spirit of good will, we didn't give him any crap over Klinsmann or Bradley still being "interim").
Also in the audience were a number of red bulls, including Clint Mathis (& wife), Stammler, Richards, Schopp (came late), Arena (& wife), two guys from the RBFO, Ritchie Williams (& wife). (NYRB have no game this weekend).
Michael Apted, who directed this film and Thunderheart (only one featured Val Kilmer), spoke before and after the film, but I figured he wasn't going to take any questions about Gorky Park (another film of his), so we left right after it was done.
The movie covers the following stories:
- the plight of South African's Federation and it's attempt to get ready for the 2010 world cup
- racism in European football, including Asian (re: Pakistani) players in England
- sexism & football in Iran, through the eyes of a female soccer reporter
- the football slave trade of African players to European academies
- the role of street soccer in turning around a poor community in Argentina
- and, Landon Donovan and the attempt of Soccer to Colonize the US.
The USA parts feature some interviews with Bruce Arena, a feature on Landon Donovan, a bit about the role of US fans in supporting the US National Team, and our results in the 2006 world cup. (I was at each of those games and didn't need to see the highlights again, but anyway).
In the movie they show a bunch of footage of US fans from Germany, but mostly from the USA- Mexico game in Columbus in 2005. They also show all of the goals from that game, which in case you've forgotten, ended in the official score of the USA- Mexico rivalry, 2-0. Sadly, the crowd shots of a Mexican fan weeping while wearing his sombrero lasted only a few seconds. In the movie, interviewed were Spacone of Sam's Army, Monty of the Midnight Riders & Sam's Army, and other US fans. You could clearly make out Metrotard in his McBride (Irish!) jersey in one of the shots, but anyway.
It was an odd film in that it was called the Power of the Game, but it left the promise of the title a bit unfulfilled. It showed some of the things that soccer can do, but I think it missed a lot. Having spent 3 weeks in Germany, the fact that they only mentioned in passing what the world cup did for that country is a total goof. Germany is a country with a terrible past that was still getting used to healing the divisions of the cold war. It had a bit of a hard time being patriotic, until that cup. For those 3 weeks, the country lifted, Germans felt proud being Germans again, and it was a magical time. Very little coverage of that, to be honest, in the movie. There's enough material for it's own film in that story alone, but if you are doing something essentially themed around the 2006 world cup, the spiritual recovery of Germany should have been a plot line.
Also, they covered women trying to get into games in Iran, but without a real climax to that story. Perhaps because the government of Iran cracked down and women have still yet to make any strides in Iranian society, but in the main that part of the film was about the power of soccer not being enough, apparently, for those women.
They highlighted the role of soccer in bringing hope to South Africa, but I think spent a bit too much time talking about the planning for the cup than they could have getting the human side of that story. Might have been more useful to show how that hope is going to change the life of the average South African, still smarting from that country's bitter history.
Anyway, it was a pretty decent film, and I'd urge people to check it out if you can. It is playing in the following places in NYC, if you happen to live there like I do. :D
Mon, Apr 30, 3:00pmAMC 34th Street Theater 10
Sat, May 5, 4:30pmAMC Kips Bay Theater 14
The tickets may be sold out, but they do door sales if you want to give that a shot, those are seats that are reserved for sponsors that don't always get used. Also, keep your eyes out for a wider release, perhaps down the line.
Anyway, it's worth 2 hours of your time, especially if you are a US fan, as you may see yourself in it. :D
Cheers.
Note: this is a documentary currently showing at NYC's Tribeca Film Festival, in case you are wondering what in the name of fudge I'm talking about.
So, Flip & I caught the World Premiere of The Power of the Game (http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tixSYS/2007/filmguide/title-detail.php?AlphaRange=PP&ShowShorts=&ShowPast=Y), a documentary about six stories leading up to the 2006 world cup.
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/tixSYS/2007/filmguide/images/filmstills/4551.jpg
It was a good, though not great film, but the world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival saw us sitting in the theater, four rows ahead of US Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati (yeah, we had better seats). (we gave him a brief "Huzzah", but in the spirit of good will, we didn't give him any crap over Klinsmann or Bradley still being "interim").
Also in the audience were a number of red bulls, including Clint Mathis (& wife), Stammler, Richards, Schopp (came late), Arena (& wife), two guys from the RBFO, Ritchie Williams (& wife). (NYRB have no game this weekend).
Michael Apted, who directed this film and Thunderheart (only one featured Val Kilmer), spoke before and after the film, but I figured he wasn't going to take any questions about Gorky Park (another film of his), so we left right after it was done.
The movie covers the following stories:
- the plight of South African's Federation and it's attempt to get ready for the 2010 world cup
- racism in European football, including Asian (re: Pakistani) players in England
- sexism & football in Iran, through the eyes of a female soccer reporter
- the football slave trade of African players to European academies
- the role of street soccer in turning around a poor community in Argentina
- and, Landon Donovan and the attempt of Soccer to Colonize the US.
The USA parts feature some interviews with Bruce Arena, a feature on Landon Donovan, a bit about the role of US fans in supporting the US National Team, and our results in the 2006 world cup. (I was at each of those games and didn't need to see the highlights again, but anyway).
In the movie they show a bunch of footage of US fans from Germany, but mostly from the USA- Mexico game in Columbus in 2005. They also show all of the goals from that game, which in case you've forgotten, ended in the official score of the USA- Mexico rivalry, 2-0. Sadly, the crowd shots of a Mexican fan weeping while wearing his sombrero lasted only a few seconds. In the movie, interviewed were Spacone of Sam's Army, Monty of the Midnight Riders & Sam's Army, and other US fans. You could clearly make out Metrotard in his McBride (Irish!) jersey in one of the shots, but anyway.
It was an odd film in that it was called the Power of the Game, but it left the promise of the title a bit unfulfilled. It showed some of the things that soccer can do, but I think it missed a lot. Having spent 3 weeks in Germany, the fact that they only mentioned in passing what the world cup did for that country is a total goof. Germany is a country with a terrible past that was still getting used to healing the divisions of the cold war. It had a bit of a hard time being patriotic, until that cup. For those 3 weeks, the country lifted, Germans felt proud being Germans again, and it was a magical time. Very little coverage of that, to be honest, in the movie. There's enough material for it's own film in that story alone, but if you are doing something essentially themed around the 2006 world cup, the spiritual recovery of Germany should have been a plot line.
Also, they covered women trying to get into games in Iran, but without a real climax to that story. Perhaps because the government of Iran cracked down and women have still yet to make any strides in Iranian society, but in the main that part of the film was about the power of soccer not being enough, apparently, for those women.
They highlighted the role of soccer in bringing hope to South Africa, but I think spent a bit too much time talking about the planning for the cup than they could have getting the human side of that story. Might have been more useful to show how that hope is going to change the life of the average South African, still smarting from that country's bitter history.
Anyway, it was a pretty decent film, and I'd urge people to check it out if you can. It is playing in the following places in NYC, if you happen to live there like I do. :D
Mon, Apr 30, 3:00pmAMC 34th Street Theater 10
Sat, May 5, 4:30pmAMC Kips Bay Theater 14
The tickets may be sold out, but they do door sales if you want to give that a shot, those are seats that are reserved for sponsors that don't always get used. Also, keep your eyes out for a wider release, perhaps down the line.
Anyway, it's worth 2 hours of your time, especially if you are a US fan, as you may see yourself in it. :D
Cheers.