Tag: Spain
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Netflix’s ‘The Champion’ (2024) entertains despite small flaws
After watching a month of the Euros and the Copa America, the Netflix drama The Champion (El Campeón) was a welcome diversion. It’s football with a little introspection, a tale that on many surfaces looks shiny and realistic but in some areas is a bit flawed.
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‘Headless Chickens’ (2023) is not afraid to be funny
The idea for Headless Chickens (Pollos Sin Cabeza) sprang from the heads of Pokeepsie Films. Although not football fans themselves, they figured when footballers and their agents are flush with money, there are many opportunities for sh*t to happen. They went to Writer and showrunner Jorge Valdano Sáenz to develop the concept.
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Bravo for ‘Las Bravas FC’ (2022)
It’s a shame that shows like Las Bravas F.C. get so little traction and attention in the world of futbol. It’s a cute, entertaining series that abounds with examples and themes of diversity, inclusion, and female footballer role models. Lead actor Mauricio Ochmann is a popular telenovela star with a charisma that echoes Ryan Reynolds…
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Review: ‘Otra forma de entender la vida’ (2021)
What does it take to win your league during a pandemic? In this documentary, the answer is to tackle one game at a time: partido a partido. What does it mean to win your league during a pandemic? Just as much as winning during a regular season. Maybe a great deal more, because the stakes…
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Paloma Freestyle: ‘All I Need is a Ball’ (2020)
Paloma Pujol is on a mission in Madrid. She is a world class, professional female freestyler. But amongst 100 freestylers in Spain, she is the only female. Paloma sets out to change that.
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Barça under Pep in ’Take the Ball Pass the Ball’ (2018)
The Year of the Pandemic has been wickedly bloodthirsty as it feasted on the faltering FC Barcelona. Internal scandals led to Barcelona’s crunching 2-8 exit in the 2019-2020 Champions League quarter-finals, the messy Messi situation, and the attempt of Barça’s fans to expel the board. Even if you’re not a Barça fan, it’s hard to watch…
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In ‘Fuera de Juego’ (2017), the wait continues
Fuera de Juego (Offside) has won awards for pondering the question: why aren’t there openly gay male pro soccer players in Spain? This question could equally be asked in many other countries. The sad truth for LGBT players is that coming out of the closet could destroy one’s career.
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‘Barça Dreams’ (2015) – the FCB brand begins at home
FC Barcelona is “Més que un Club” – More than a Club. And if you had any doubt, you should watch the documentary Barça Dreams. At 2 hours, this is probably the longest soccer documentary I’ve ever seen. Writer-Director Jordi Llompart covers the club’s history and culture, which has fermented and evolved since 1899. There is…
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‘Holy Goalie’ (2017) is one of the best soccer comedies
I am mystified that the Spanish media was mostly critical of Que baje Dios y lo vea (Holy Goalie), faulting it as clichéd and unimaginative, with actors in roles not much different from what they portray on popular TV shows. One writer even complained that there were too many jokes. Does Spain have the best…
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Football is medicine for ‘The Other Kids’ (2016)
First-time Director Pablo de la Chica initially set out to make a documentary about the young Ugandan players who had a chance to visit FC Barcelona in 2007. While investigating, de la Chica found Mubiru Reagan playing soccer in a garbage dump near the Mandela National Stadium. The landfill is heavy with the toxic smell…
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Remembering the Zambian NT in ‘Eighteam’ (2014)
As much as I like parts of the film Eighteam, much of it circumnavigates the tragic plane crash that killed almost the entire Zambian National Team on April 27, 1993, off the coast of Gabon.
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Soccer fans bind together in ‘La Gran Final’ (2006)
Soccer cannot unite the world. But for a few hours, the motivation to watch a game allows people to set aside their differences. La Gran Final is a triptych of disappearing cultures joining with the modern forces that swallow them, to watch, with ebullient shared enthusiasm, the 2000 World Cup Final of Germany versus Brazil.
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Review: Carlitos y el Campo de los Sueños (2008)
Carlitos and the Field of Dreams is predictable but enjoyable. Carlitos, a 12 year old orphan, sneaks out of the orphanage with the help of his fellow inmates, in order to play for Spain’s junior national team. The orphanage’s maintenance man becomes the team’s coach, and the pair help win the European Junior Cup.
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‘Dias de futbol’ (2003) a funny Spanish buddy film
Días de fútbol, or Football Days, is a pretty funny Spanish buddy film about 7 men who resolve to enter and win a soccer league in order to cheer up Jorge, who has been dumped by his long-time girlfriend. All of the men have troubled love lives, and they are all terrible soccer players. They are…
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‘El Portero’ (2000) a pretty Spain in the ugly era of Franco
In El Portero, a former Real Madrid goalkeeper known as the King of the Penalty Kick, travels the Spanish countryside, wagering men to score against him. The villagers and the underground openly express their opposition to the repressive military dictatorship via a comedic penalty kick shootout versus the soldiers.
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Review: ‘El penalti más largo del mundo’ (2005)
The Longest Penalty Kick in the World is a Spanish film that is so horribly boring I had to keep rewinding to watch the parts I had dozed through.
