NEXT GOAL WINS
Cert 12A
104 mins
BBFC advice: Contains injury detail, discrimination, sex references, infrequent strong language
In 2020, I rated the documentary Next Goal Wins as one of my top 20 movies of the decade.
In my review of the movie six years previously, I had written: "In 97 wonderful minutes Steve Jamison and Mike Brett reminded me why I first loved the beautiful game as a child and offers an antidote to the money-grabbing which has turned me away from it in the past few years."
Therefore, while I was looking forward to this dramatisation of that story, I knew that the truth would be more captivating than fiction.
So it proved. Even with the marvellous Taika Waititi as its director and the excellent Michael Fassbender as its star, it would always be second best.
In essence, the story is the same - sacked football coach Thomas Rongen (Fassbender) is sent to a Pacific island to coach the worst national football team in the world.
That is no exaggeration - American Samoa had lost by a record 31-0 to Australia.
He is reluctant to take the assignment, and his worst fears are realised when he meets his squad - an ill-disciplined bunch of part-timers.
The team's uniqueness is summed up by including the first transgender player (Kaimana) in international football.
If it were the first time I had encountered this story, I suspect I would have enjoyed its comedy and pathos more than I did.
However, I found the exaggeration of the characters rather annoying because it wasn't necessary.
And there are comedy moments that raise a smile, but we all know it didn't happen.
Nevertheless, Fassbender gives a decent tilt at playing Rongen as a man with a case full of regrets and a frighteningly bad temper.
Thus, he is out of sync with the spiritual and easygoing islanders whose only ambition on the football field is to score one goal.
The coming together of two very different philosophies gives the picture its heartbeat.
And it may not be as compelling as the documentary, but the feel-good factor remains.
Reasons to watch: Based on an incredible true story
Reasons to avoid: Isn't as good as the documentary
Laughs: Three
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10
Did you know? At the time of writing, American Samoa were 188th in the FIFA World rankings - 23 places above, last-placed San Marino.
The final word. Taika Waititi: "We’re not trying to make a perfect film that’s, like, got a twist: Oh my God, the coach is a ghost! We’re not out to bamboozle audiences or get awards or anything. We want to make a nice movie, a true story about a football team, and the only message is, “Be happy and don’t live in the past." Polygon
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