2010 Movie World Cup, Recap

A film spotlight based on the 2010 Soccer World Cup

The Rules and selection criteria were drafted back in November 2009, with the first film viewed back in Dec 2009 and the final film seen only days before the soccer World Cup kicked off on June 11, 2010. From the 32 film list there were many entries that looked as potential finalists:

England: Of Time and the City (2008, Terence Davies)
Japan: The Human Condition, part I (1959, Masaki Kobayashi)
Portugal: Colossal Youth (2006, Pedro Costa)
Paraguay: Paraguayan Hammock (2006, Paz Encina)
France: Sans soleil (1983, Chris Marker)
Brazil: Almost Brothers (2004, Lúcia Murat)
Spain: The Spirit of the Beehive (1973, Victor Erice)
Germany: Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (1922, Fritz Lang)
Italy: Il Divo (2008, Paolo Sorrentino)
Argentina: Liverpool (2008, Lisandro Alonso)
South Korea: Like you Know it All (2009, Hong sang-soo)
USA: Ballast (2008, Lance Hammer)
Chile: Historias de fútbol (1997 Andrés Wood)

Of these, the English, Italian and Brazilian titles were hugely disappointing. Only the Argentine feature exceeded expectations and very early on it was evident that it was a potential winner. The following were a few pleasurable discoveries:

Mexico: In the Pit (2006, Juan Carlos Rulfo)
Honduras: El Porvenir (2008, Oscar Estrada)
Serbia: The Life and Death of a Porno Gang (2009, Mladen Djordjevic)

I wish I had spent more time digging up a Dutch title but I took a gamble with the 2009 feature Amsterdam (Ivo van Hove) and unfortunately, it didn't pay off.

Below is a more complete recap.

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First Round

Following are the films listed in the order they finished in the group, with total points out of 9.

Group A -- Mexico (In the Pit, 8), Uruguay (Gigante, 8), France (Sans Soleil, 7), South Africa (U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha, 6)

Group B -- Argentina (Liverpool, 9), Greece (The Lost Monument, 8), South Korea (Like You Know it All, 8), Nigeria (Without Shame, 4)

Group C -- USA (Ballast, 9), Algeria (Daugther of Keltoum, 7), Slovenia (How I Killed a Saint, 6), England (Of Time and the City, 5)

Group D -- Serbia (The Life and Death of a Porno Gang, 9), Germany (Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, 8), Australia (Celia, 6), Ghana (The Perfect Picture, 5)

Group E -- Japan (The Human Condition, part I, 9), Denmark (Flame and Citron, 8), Cameroon (A Trip to the Country, 7), Holland (Amsterdam, 5)

Group F -- Paraguay (Paraguayan Hammock, 8), Italy (Il Divo, 6), Slovakia (Orbis Pictus, 6), New Zealand (Black Sheep, 4)

Group G -- Portugal (Colossal Youth, 9), North Korea (North Korea: A Day in the Life, 7), Brazil (Almost Brothers, 6), Ivory Coast (Adanggaman, 5)

Group H -- Honduras (El Porvenir, 8), Spain (The Spirit of the Beehive, 7), Chile (Historias de fútbol, 6), Switzerland (A Crude Awakening, 5)

The top 2 films from each group advanced to the second round or the round of 16.

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Second Round

1) Mexico (In the Pit) 3-1 Greece (The Lost Monument)

2) USA (Ballast) 3-2 Germany (Dr. Mabuse The Gambler)

3) Japan (The Human Condition, part I) 3-0 Italy (Il Divo)

4) Portugal (Colossal Youth) 2-1 Spain (The Spirit of the Beehive)

5) Argentina (Liverpool) 3-1 Uruguay (Gigante)

6) Serbia (The Life and Death of a Porno Gang) 3-0 Algeria (Daughter of Keltoum)

7) Paraguay (Paraguayan Hammock) 2-3 Denmark (Flame and Citron)

8) Honduras (El Porvenir) 3-0 North Korea (North Korea: A Day in the Life)

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Quarter-Finals

1) Mexico (In the Pit) 3-3 USA (Ballast)
2) Japan (The Human Condition, part I) 2-2 Portugal (Colossal Youth)
3) Argentina (Liverpool) 3-2 Serbia (The Life and Death of a Porno Gang)
4) Denmark (Flame and Citron) 2-2 Honduras (El Porvenir)

The Mexican, Japanese and Honduran films all advanced to the Semi-Finals on the basis of subjective penalty shoot-out wins.

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Semi-Finals, 3rd Place & Final

Semi-Finals

Mexico (In the Pit) 3 - 2 Japan (The Human Condition, part I)
Argentina (Liverpool) 3-2 Honduras (El Porvenir)

3rd Place

Japan (The Human Condition, part I) 2-2 Honduras (El Porvenir)

The Honduran film takes 3rd place on penalties.

Final

Mexico (In the Pit) 2-3 Argentina (Liverpool)

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Overall, a very enjoyable festival with plenty of rich cinematic offerings. I especially relished the challenge of tracking down films from all 32 countries and such a task required a good investment of time and money. Some films were obviously a lot harder to find, such as the entries from Honduras, Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria but in the end it was worth it as the presence of a full set of 32 films made for a worthy competition.

2010 Movie World Cup, Semi-Finals, 3rd Place & Final

Semi-Final #1

Mexico (In the Pit) 3 - 2 Japan (The Human Condition, part I)

In the Pit

Freeway construction site. A concrete cross ready to bear the burden of human's technological advances. Forgive us concrete, for we humans have sinned.

The end sequence of In the Pit is quite beautiful and gives an overview of the enormous construction site and hovers over some of the hundreds of workers involved. We only get to meet a few of the site workers in the film but there are many more stories waiting to be told.

The Human Condition

An intelligent and fascinating case study of human egos, greed and power.

Kaji has the difficult task of trying to implement his ideals across two parties, masters and slaves, who hate and distrust the other. Just three snapshots of his complex discussions:

1) Telling the labor bosses to steal less makes Kaji an instant enemy.

2) Kaji's ideas about fair labor conditions and practices are immediately dismissed by his supervisors as impractical.

3) Breaking the bad news to the prisoners -- Kaji almost always has bad news for the prisoners because his humane methods are either not recognized or undermined.

The Human Condition is a timeless film that will always be relevant because humans will never be able to treat others with respect and dignity. Egos, greed and lust for power will never go out of fashion.

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Semi-Final #2

Argentina (Liverpool) 3-2 Honduras (El Porvenir)

Liverpool is about a solitary man's journey while El Porvenir looks at the reasons why young men abandon isolation in favor of gangs. Death is implied yet never seen in Liverpool whereas El Porvenir examines the brutal killing that took place in April 2003 at the El Porvenir penal farm.

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3rd Place Match

Japan (The Human Condition, part I) 2-2 Honduras (El Porvenir)

Penalty shoot-out! The Honduran film narrowly sneaks out third place on penalties.

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Movie World Cup Final

Mexico (In the Pit,2006, Juan Carlos Rulfo) 2-3 Argentina (Liverpool, 2008, Lisandro Alonso)

Lisandro Alonso's beautiful film ends up as the best overall film when compared to the other 31 entries. The Brazilian film, In the Middle of the World, won the 2006 Movie World Cup and now another South American film takes the 2010 Movie World Cup. Unfortunately, no South American team will win the 2010 soccer World Cup despite a strong showing from all 5 South American teams in the opening rounds.

2010 Movie World Cup, Quarter-Finals

The head-to-head rules for the Quarter-Finals are the same as the second round, meaning three categories are used to decide a winner -- Direction, Structure (story and editing) & Cinematography.

1) Mexico (In the Pit) 3-3 USA (Ballast)

Both films perfectly soak up the mood and noise of their locales with In the Pit focusing on a freeway construction site in Mexico City and Ballast observing a family's plight in the Mississippi Delta. However, Juan Carlos Rulfo has also created a film that explains a nation's economic and social situation and offers a meditative look at the mess that humans have created for themselves with their never ending car packed roads. The more roads that humans build, the faster they will be filled with cars so in a way, construction for easing car congestion will inevitably lead to more congestion. The Myth of Sisyphus is well and truly a reality.

2) Japan (The Human Condition, part I) 2-2 Portugal (Colossal Youth)

Two completely different styles at play here with The Human Condition being a narrative driven exercise and Colossal Youth a mesmerizing painting. In the end, the Japanese film wins out because of its rich and fascinating template of intriguing characters who provide an understanding into the political problems facing our world. Now, there is no denying the pleasure that exists in observing Ventura in Colossal Youth but in order to enjoy moments with Ventura we are forced to spend time with Vanda, whose conversations did not suit my cinematic palate. In a way, Colossal Youth demonstrated both the beauty and frustrations demonstrated by the Portuguese national team at this World Cup. On one hand, Portugal played some champagne football in their 7 goal classic against North Korea but on the other hand they were also guilty of mind numbing dullness in two 0-0 draws against Ivory Coast and Brazil. Portugal vs North Korea = Ventura, while Portugal vs Ivory Coast = Vanda. If only Cape Verde were present in this group instead of Ivory Coast, then maybe, just maybe a dream of a lava house would have been truly realized.

3) Argentina (Liverpool) 3-2 Serbia (The Life and Death of a Porno Gang)

Death is a common bond between these films but with a slight difference -- in the case of Liverpool death is indirectly implied outside the frame but in The Life and Death of a Porno Gang death is found brutally and explicitly at every turn. Liverpool also signifies nirvana where the main character is able to shed off his worldly worries and attain pure liberation. On the other hand, The Life and Death of a Porno Gang demonstrates multiple lives cruelly cut short with none of the characters ever coming close to living out their wishes.

4) Denmark (Flame and Citron) 2-2 Honduras (El Porvenir)

The Danish film shows the emotional wear and tear of characters trained to kill for their cause while the Honduran feature examines a social system which allows killing to easily take place. Flame and Citron is set during WWII at a time when resistance groups fought for freedom but as El Porvenir shows even when a nation gets freedom, its citizens cannot freely etch out a living.

Movie Quarter-Final Results

Mexico, Japan and Honduras advance on the back of subjective penalty shoot-out wins while the Argentine feature advances with yet another strong result.

All the films at this stage are quality works as demonstrated by the first round ratings -- 5 of the 8 films scored 9/9 and the remaining 3 netted 8/9. So this made for some very close decisions and interestingly, three of the quarter finals ended up being decided by a subjective penalty shoot-out after the head-to-head match-up ended in a tie.

Soccer World Cup Quarter-Finals

My prediction for 4 possible South American teams in the Semi-Finals came to a crashing end this past weekend. But thankfully, the 4 matches were all classics in their own right and provided plenty of drama and intriguing stories.

Holland 2-1 Brazil

I did not see this one coming, especially after the first half when Holland were absolutely poor. How can one explain Brazil's implosion in the second half, especially Felipe Melo's moment of madness? Melo lost his mind and so did Brazil. Robinho and Fabiano are imposters who should spend their energy playing the game and not complaining. Dunga's decision to take extra defensive players to the World Cup backfired and when Brazil needed a goal, they had no creative force to call upon. Hopefully none of the existing Brazilians will ever play for the national team again and the 2014 Brazilian squad returns to its beautiful football roots.

Holland are in the semis for the first time since 1998 but this Dutch team is a world away from the 1974, 1978, 1988 Dutch squads known for beautiful football. Still, if there is a nation that deserves to win the World Cup based on the game's history, then it is Holland. But if the Dutch are to succeed, then they need Van Persie to stop getting injured and start scoring goals.

Uruguay 1-1 Ghana, Uruguay wins 4-2 on penalties

The hand of Suarez, a last minute penalty miss and a penalty shoot-out drama!! The end result is that Africa misses out on a historic semi-final berth while Uruguay is back in the semi-finals for the first time since 1970 when they lost 3-1 to Brazil.

Germany 4-0 Argentina

Prior to the game, my mind expected Germany to win but my heart wanted Argentina to win. Yet, I didn't expect such a one sided demolition job. Wow! Maradona went the opposite way of Dunga in that he left out much needed defensive cover in the form of Cambiasso & Zanetti and opted for more offensive players. The end result was that Germany had enough freedom to find space in Argentina's hollow defense.

Spain 1-0 Paraguay

What would Spain do without David Villa? Once again, Villa comes to the rescue after both team's captains, Casillas & Villar, made vital penalty saves although Villar got 2 tries to save one kick.

Brazil's defensive setup vs Argentina's attacking lineup

Dunga opted for 8 defenders, 8 midfielders and only 4 forward whereas Maradona took 7 defenders, 7 midfielders and 6 attackers. On top of that, Argentina's midfield was far more adventurous and attack minded than Brazil's defensive midfield which featured more holding players such as Gilberto and Melo. A Brazil vs Argentina final would have been a great opportunity to observe the contrasting styles but both team's weakness did them in. Brazil had almost no creativity to pry open the Dutch team and were as ineffective as they were in the 1-0 loss to France in the last World Cup whereas Argentina lacked any defensive cover to stop the German runs.

So back to the drawing board for Brazil and Argentina.

South America 1 - Europe 3

South America's bright start has faded away and only Uruguay remain waving the continent's flag while the presence of Holland, Germany and Spain in the semi's means there is a strong possibility of a European team finally winning the World Cup outside of Europe.

2010 World Cup, 1st Round Soccer vs Film & Predictions Review

First Round Comparison



9 countries advanced to both the soccer World Cup and movie tournament’s second round as all 8 groups provided atleast one common nation, with Group A being the only group that provided the same two nations.  Argentina, USA and Paraguay were the only three countries that topped both their soccer and movie groups.

Regional Comparison of the 16 Nations Advancing from the First Round

Soccer World Cup -- South America (5/5), Europe (6/13), North & Central America (2/3), Asia (2/3), Africa (1/6), Oceania (0/2).

Movie World Cup -- South America (3/5), Europe (7/13), North & Central America (3/3), Asia (2/3), Africa (1/6), Oceania (0/2).

It is quite remarkable that the regional representation is almost similar for both the soccer and film World Cups with the numbers for Asia, Africa and Oceania completely identical. In that sense, my film selections ended up being consistent with the different regional soccer team's performances. However, South American teams have stood out in the soccer World Cup with a brilliant performance as four of the five South American nations advanced in 1st place in their respective groups and Chile only gave up first place on the final day on goal-difference.

Predictions vs Actual Results in the Soccer World Cup



I correctly picked 12 out of 16 nations for my 2nd round picks. I clearly over-estimated Serbia's abilities while under-estimated South Korea, Ghana, Japan and Slovakia. Although I am still not convinced about Ghana because they failed to find the target from open play and had penalties to thank for their 2 strikes. One can argue that had Harry Kewell not used his arm then Ghana would have had a clear goal but Ghana owe a huge debt of gratitude for Zdravko Kuzmanovic’s gift of a handball. Serbia have only themselves to blame for their exit and their two needless handballs depicted the mental meltdown of their players. Vidic maybe reliable for Man Utd but he panicked against Germany and handled in a similar silly manner to Kuzmanovic.

Even though I didn't do too bad with my picks, I still got plenty of things wrong.

1) Group C

"Despite all their shortcomings, England will comfortably advance from this group along with USA."

Yes, both teams advanced but it was not very comfortable as England and USA needed 1-0 wins on the final day, with USA getting their winner in injury time.

"The big question will be whether the US can beat England to the group's #1 spot."

Yes this was answered as USA grabbed top spot but only on goal-difference. Prior to the World Cup, I thought that the only way the Americans could get top spot was if they beat England 2-1 otherwise if they only tied England 1-1, then they would finish in second place on goal difference because I expected England to beat Algeria 3-0 and Slovenia 2-0.

2) Group F

"I do not expect Italy to achieve anything and I am sure they will comply. It is hard to see this Italian team make it to the semi's but they have enough talent to win their group and advance to the next round."

Yes Italy did not achieve anything but instead of winning their easy group, they finished bottom.

"2nd spot will come down to Paraguay vs Slovakia with New Zealand finishing comfortably in 4th. For now, I am going to pick Paraguay to advance even though my instinct tells me Slovakia will go through."

Both Paraguay & Slovakia advanced but New Zealand finished impressively unbeaten in 3rd.

3) Group H

"Despite their injuries and possible fatigue, Spain should easily win the group. Chile had an excellent world cup campaign and should follow Spain out of this group. Ottmar Hitzfeld will ensure the Swiss put on a good display but Switzerland's style will be a complete contrast to Chile and Honduras."

Spain did win the group but it clearly was not a stroll.

Overall, I got the standings of all four teams correct for Group A, G and H but Group G & H were a bit easier to get right. I am most delighted with my group A predictions where I correctly picked the order of Uruguay, Mexico, South Africa and France. Most people I know expected France to not make it out of their group but quite a few of them expected South Africa to join Uruguay. I take pride in picking the game scores of the French games to be 0-0 with Uruguay, 0-2 Mexico and 0-1 South Africa. France lost 2-1 to South Africa but atleast I got 2 scores and goal difference correct for the French team. Ofcourse, with Raymond Domenech in charge, failure was the only option available for the French. The only reason that Domenech didn't fail miserably in 2006 was Zinedine Zidane.

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Second Round

The only match-up similar in the second round of the soccer and movie world cup is Spain vs Portugal. In the movie world cup, Pedro Costa’s beautiful film narrowly advanced over Victor Erice’s feature but it is hard to see the Portuguese soccer team beat out a Xavi-Iniesta-David Villa powered Spanish team.

Still, good football awaits this weekend. Hopefully there will be goals.

2010 Movie World Cup, Second Round

The second round draw & rules:

1) The match-ups will be as per the FIFA World Cup knock out round draw, such as the winner of Group A will play the runner-up from Group B.

2) Three categories will be used to decide the head-to-head film match-ups -- Direction, Structure (story and editing) & Cinematography.

If film A is better than film B in a category, then film A will get 1 point and film B will get 0. So the maximum score a film can earn is 3-0 when it prevails over the opposing film in all three categories.

If both film A and film B are equal in a category, then they each get 1 point. This could lead to a situation where two films can be tied 3-3. In that case, the winning film will be decided by a subjective vote, which I equate to a penalty shoot-out.

So here are the film match-ups and winning scores:

1) Mexico (In the Pit) 3-1 Greece (The Lost Monument)

The Mexican documentary is quite sublime and thoughtful and earns maximum points in all categories whereas the Greek short film earns a point on the strength of its cinematography.

2) USA (Ballast) 3-2 Germany (Dr. Mabuse The Gambler)

The German entry scores points on its structure and direction, both of which are years ahead of the film's production time but Ballast excels in all categories, especially the cinematography which accurately conveys the bleak mood.

3) Japan (The Human Condition, part I) 3-0 Italy (Il Divo)

Interestingly, both films depict humans at their backstabbing best. However, The Human Condition is a far more engaging look at the difficulty in dealing with manipulative and egoistic personalities.

4) Portugal (Colossal Youth) 2-1 Spain (The Spirit of the Beehive)

This is the only match-up where the two films split up scoring in the three categories, as Colossal Youth scores on direction and cinematography, while The Spirit of the Beehive earns a single point on the strength of its linear structure and editing. Almost every scene in The Spirit of the Beehive serves a purpose to the overall film's flow whereas Colossal Youth has some scenes which are questionable. On an amusing note, Mark Peranson does extract the purpose of one such scene in Colossal Youth:

The corporeal walkouts at Cannes, highly expected, began en masse during Vanda’s first scene, the camera unmoving in her doll’s house-like bedroom, as she engages Ventura in a seemingly endless conversation about diapers, or something; hacking up half a lung, she becomes trapped in some kind of loop (is it the methadone talking?), and to those not on her (or Costa’s) wavelength, I can easily see how it could be torture, especially on the ninth day of the festival. "That scene is in that place to get everyone out of the theatre who doesn’t want to be there, right?" I asked him. His answer: "Exactly."

5) Argentina (Liverpool) 3-1 Uruguay (Gigante)

The beautiful liberating cinema of Lisandro Alonso vs the structured contemplative cinema of Adrian Biniez. Gigante is thoughtful and amusing in a dry humorous manner and scores a point due to its direction.

6) Serbia (The Life and Death of a Porno Gang) 3-0 Algeria(Daughter of Keltoum)

Two completely different styles on display here. The Serbian feature strips away any emotion in displaying the cold savage human mind at work whereas the Algerian feature is filled with tender emotions which warm the heart.  The Algerian film has lot of good qualities but if both films are judged objectively, then the Serbian feature easily comes out on top.

7) Paraguay (Paraguayan Hammock) 2-3 Denmark (Flame and Citron)

The only match-up where a group winner loses out to a runner-up film but it was certainly close and in the end, the Danish film's engaging story makes the slight difference.  Flame and Citron gives some insight into its characters psyche whereas Paraguayan Hammock is content to keep its characters a bit distant.

8) Honduras (El Porvenir) 3-0 North Korea (North Korea: A Day in the Life)

The only match-up to feature two documentaries. The Honduran film features a far more in-depth analysis of its subject where the North Korean entry barely scratches the surface of its material. Ofcourse, the watchful eye of the North Korean government is a huge reason why Pieter Fleury's film cannot explore its subject freely.

2010 Movie World Cup, First Round Recap

All 32 World Cup films have been viewed and the group stages have been completed. The top two films from each group will advance to the next round.

Here is a recap of the 16 films advancing to the knock-out round. Also, the total points earned by each group are listed. Each group could have earned a maximum of 36 points, that is 9 points for a film x 4 films.

1) Group A -- Total points 29

Mexico: In the Pit (2006, Juan Carlos Rulfo)
Uruguay: Gigante (2009, Adrian Biniez)

2) Group B -- Total points 29

Argentina: Liverpool (2008, Lisandro Alonso)
Greece: The Lost Monument (2009, Stefanos Tsivopoulos)

3) Group C -- Total points 27

USA: Ballast (2008, Lance Hammer)
Algeria: Daughter of Keltoum (2001, Mehdi Charef)

4) Group D -- Total points 28

Serbia: The Life and Death of a Porno Gang (2009, Mladen Djordjevic)
Germany: Dr. Mabuse The Gambler (1922, Fritz Lang)

5) Group E -- Total points 29

Japan: The Human Condition, part I (1959, Masaki Kobayashi)
Denmark: Flame and Citron (2008, Ole Christian Madsen)

6) Group F -- Total points 24

Paraguay: Paraguayan Hammock (2006, Paz Encina)
Italy: Il Divo (2008, Paolo Sorrentino)

7) Group G -- Total points 27

Portugal: Colossal Youth (2006, Pedro Costa)
North Korea: A Day in the Life (2004, Pieter Fleury)

8) Group H -- Total points 26

Honduras: El Porvenir (2008, Oscar Estrada)
Spain: The Spirit of the Beehive (1973, Victor Erice)

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Groups A, B and E had the highest points total of 29 out of a possible 36, which is 81%. The lowest total went to Group F with 24 (67%). Overall, just 5 points separated the top groups from the bottom group, so there was an overall decent selection of films with no group falling too far behind in the quality of films.

Group A was quite close overall with the top two getting 8 points, the French entry getting 7 and the South African title picking up 6.

Five of the Eight groups had a film earning 9/9 points and safe to say, it will be these films that will feature the longest in the competition. Thankfully, no group winner earned less than 8 points.

This is the regional breakdown of the 16 teams:

Europe -- 7 (Greece, Serbia, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Portugal and Spain

It is not surprizing that seven European films progressed because Europe had the largest representation providing 41% of all the films with a total of 13 European entries out of 32.

North and Central America -- 3 (Mexico, USA, Honduras)

The North and Central American region performed best with all 3 entries progressing to the next round.

South America -- 3 (Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay)

Three of the five South American films progressed.

Asia -- 2 (Japan, North Korea)

The Asian films did quite well with 2 out of their 3 entries moving on with the South Korean film narrowly missing out despite earning 8 points. Even though Australia booked their place in the soccer World Cup from the Asian qualifying zone, I am placing the Australian film as part of Oceania along with New Zealand. Both Oceania films failed to advance to the next round.

Africa -- 1 (Algeria)

Unfortunately, only one of the six African titles advanced as the Algerian film took second place spot in Group C. The limited availability of films from some of the African countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast and Cameroon meant that I had a very limited selection to choose from thereby forcing me to pick the first title I came across from these nations.

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2010 Movie World Cup, Group G

Group G -- Brazil, Ivory Coast, North Korea, Portugal

Films: Almost Brothers, Adanggaman, North Korea: A Day in the Life, Colossal Youth

Brazil: Almost Brothers (2004, Lúcia Murat)

The film has an interesting setup in linking the Brazilian military junta's political imprisonments in the 1970's to a modern day depiction of favela gangs. The story starts off in the 1950's when two men from vastly different social backgrounds are brought together by their common love for music. Two decades later, their sons find themselves as cell mates during the military junta's crackdown. The two develop a frienship in the prison but find themselves on opposite sides after an experiment to treat all inmates as equals fails leading to a prison divided on racial grounds. And another few decades later, the two friends find themselves on opposing sides again, with Miguel a politician seeking to improve slum life and Jorginho stuck in prison yet running a slum gang remotely via phone. To complicate matters, Miguel's daugther is involved with a gang member who works for Jorginho.

There are some engaging prison sequences in the film and some interesting moments involving a friendship continously put to the test due to racial, social and political divisions but overall, it is a disappointing effort given the previously thorough depiction of Favela/gang life on film. The presentation of the story across decades with constant cuts disrupts any flow the film builds and weakens both the present and past portrayals.

Ivory Coast: Adanggaman (2000, Roger Gnoan M'Bala)

Adanggaman blends fact and fiction in its depiction of slavery from an African perspective in the 1600s. The film starts off with Ossei's clash with his parents over his refusal to marry as per tradition and their wishes. But after an attack on his village, Ossei finds himself on the run and is eventually captured to be sold as a slave.

North Korea: A Day in the Life (2004, Pieter Fleury)

A lot of credit must be given to Pieter Fleury for making an accurate film depicting state of things inside North Korea despite working under the watchful eye of the North Korean government. The government chose the family that Fleury could interview and probably limited where his camera could go. Still, despite being confined in a rigid framework, Fleury has emerged with a film that confirms what one reads about North Korea and its controlled environment.

The chosen family, from grandfather to the young granddaughter, utter anti-US messages every chance they get, thereby pleasing the North Korean officials who probably reviewed the footage. Besides filming inside the family home, Fleury also films in a factory, an office, a local school, an English language learning class and all these sites confirm people are working/talking under a watchful eye. The family and the office workers words don't ever seem genuine and thereby serve as evidence of the staged nature of the interview. In the factory, Fleury's camera is able to give a truthful view of the working conditions that exist. The employees have daily targets to meet and even if there is a power shortage (which are frequent and almost daily), it is up to the employees to work harder and faster to make up for the lost time.  Fleury is also able to capture a discussion among a group of school teachers about whether the lessons and stories they teach in school will accurately emphasize their great leader's generosity.  It is amazing to think that tiny footage could have escaped the North Korean censors as it clearly shows that only things related to the great leader are to be taught in the classroom.   There are also radio annoucements included in the film which convey the daily propaganda fed to the people about the great cause of their nation and beliefs.  And the film ends by giving us a good look at the great leader, naturally.

The film won a special Award for Best Documentary at Pyongyang Film Festival in 2004, so obviously the North Korean powers were pleased by the image the film presents. It is remarkable that the film manages to depict exactly what the government would have wanted to stop anyway. There are subtle things that maybe the government didn't pick up such as the office workers body language giving away the artificial nature of the interview.  The documentary comes off as a comedy in its observation of people's routines but ofcourse it is no laughing matter considering that these people have to spend each day under the watchful eye of the great leader and his followers.  Orwell's fictional 1984 is still a reality.

Portugal: Colossal Youth (2006, Pedro Costa)

Colossal Youth is a living breathing painting that lets us observe its beauty and allows us to listen in to the sounds flowing within the canvas.

The mesmerizing opening shot is an indication of the beauty that lies ahead.

The film completes the Fontainhas trilogy and picks up after most of the residents from In Vanda's Room have been relocated to pristine lifeless clean apartment complexes.

Vanda is back as well, along with her cough, but this time around it is Ventura who is the camera's main focal point. Here he goes looking for Vanda.

Ventura has to select his apartment but he is taking his time and is in no hurry. The clean walls of the apartment hold no joy for Ventura as his heart is torn in between Fontainhas and his dream Lava House in Cape Verde.

Fontainhas provides Ventura an opportunity to do most of his thinking from his red throne where he can view the disappearing neighbourhood.

And there is just one scene where Costa's camera gives a glimpse of life that exists beyond the two worlds of Fontainhas and the apartment complex. This scene shows lights glittering in the distance and is the first indication of a city's existence in both Colossal Youth and In Vanda's Room.

Otherwise, Costa's camera is only focused on the relevant details, be it alleys, walls or faces.

And finally, the music and words of the infectious liberation song that Ventura plays on the record player stay long in the mind even after all the credits have taken leave.

Standings and Points (Maximum out of 9)

Colossal Youth: 9
North Korea: A Day in the Life: 7
Almost Brothers: 6
Adanggaman: 5

The big surprize has to be the North Korean elimination of Brazil who were the defending movie world cup champions from 2006. Since the Brazilian film In the Middle of the World had won my 2006 movie world cup, I had put some pressure on myself to ensure I got a good Brazilian film for a worthy title defense. After I failed to get my first pick of Garapa (José Padilha), I had little to choose between my 2nd pick of Margarette's Feast and 3rd pick Almost Brothers. In the end, I went with Almost Brothers by default because my 2nd pick was not readily available. Yet, I am sure I could have made a better selection than Almost Brothers.

Technically the North Korean entry is a Dutch film made by a dutch director. However, it is set entirely in North Korea and the work got the approval of the government so I see no problem in using it to represent North Korea in this movie world cup.

Soccer Group Prediction

This group was initially labeled as a Group of Death because of the stellar players on display for Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast. But this group does appear to be light weight with Brazil clear favourites to take top spot and advance along with Portugal in 2nd place.

Brazil might not play with too much flair and score many goals but they will get their 3 wins. Drogba's possible absence will be felt dearly by Ivory Coast who need his experience to muscle in some goals. Plus, it is hard to see what Sven-Göran Eriksson can accomplish with the limited time he has had with Ivory Coast. If Portugal's golden generation of Luis Figo and Rui Costa could not win anything for the national team, then it is hard to see the current squad do much at the world cup. Ronaldo will be busy doing his step-overs but they will amount to nothing. It will be interesting to see if Portugal can get rid of their diving and play acting. North Korea are an unknown entity but are unlikely to repeat the shock result of 1966 when they beat Italy 1-0.

Brazil, Portugal and North Korea are also tied historically to the 1966 World Cup. In 1966, Portugal were in the same group as Brazil and the two took part in an ugly game when the Portuguese players kicked Pele out of the world cup. Even today, it is hard to watch those images of Pele being repeatedly hacked and fouled in one of the earliest examples of ugly football. North Korea's last match in the World Cup was a Quarter-Final tie in 1966 against Portugal where they raced to a shock 3-0 lead before Eusebio took over and scored 4 goals en route to a 5-3 Portugese win. No repeat of that score line will take place when these two meet but atleast the North Korean team will be encouraged that a previous generation of national players scored three goals in the opening 25 minutes against Portugal.

2010 Movie World Cup, Group E

Group E -- Holland, Cameroon, Japan, Denmark

Films: Amsterdam, A Trip to the Country, The Human Condition, part I, Flame & Citron

Holland: Amsterdam (2009, Ivo van Hove)

Amsterdam depicts a modern cosmopolitan mosaic of Dutch life and tackles issues such as racism, illegal immigration, crime, broken marriages and familial bonds by juggling multiple story lines which converge with a bang, literally in the form of an accident. Marisa Tomei has a small role where she plays a woman frustrated in her marriage.

Cameroon: A Trip to the Country (2000, Jean-Marie Téno)

A great thing about this movie world cup is that it gives me a chance to catch up with director's works from different countries. I had read about Jean-Marie Téno previously but had never seen anything by him, so I was delighted to view his A Trip to the Country.

Jean-Marie Téno travels from the capital Yaoundé to the Cameroonian country side to highlight some concerns relevant to the local economy such as the decline in agriculture and lack of infrastructure and also examines attitudes related to the desire for westernization and emulation of the west.

The film's ending gives a perfect example about the infrastructural and organizational problems in African soccer and brings to mind an incident when in the mid 1990's the Cameroonian soccer team almost walked out of the tournament due to a dispute about payment/bonuses. Similarly, in the ending of A Trip to the Country a local soccer championship game is almost disrupted due to money issues. As narrated in the film, all local teams had to pay increased registration fees to enter the tournament whose winner would get a trophy and prize money. However, moments before the final's kick-off, the finalists are informed there's going to be no trophy nor any prize money handed out. The players are not happy but are told by the officials to play.



When the game eventually starts, the players have to play on a terrible pitch with the ball occasionally getting lost in the tall grass.



If organizational and infrastructure problems can plague the national team, then it is not surprizing to see these problems taking place at the root level of the game. Although such problems are not confined just to Cameroon but inflict many other African nations as well, thereby making it hard for an African team to mount a serious World cup challenge.

Japan: The Human Condition, part I (1959, Masaki Kobayashi)

Part I of Masaki Kobayashi's 9+ hour, 3 part film, is a brilliant depiction of opposing values and beliefs in treatment of prisoners and human beings. The person caught in the middle of an ideological tug of war is Keiji (Tatsuya Nakadai), the supervisor of a Japanese controlled World War II labor camp. Keiji's desire to have the Chinese prisoners treated properly bring him in constant conflict with his supervisors and even the prisoners themselves. The film is a fascinating case study in showing how diplomacy cannot thrive in an environment of doubt, violence and inflated egos. The examples the film represents regarding the treatment of captured prisoners/citizens of a conquered nation are relevant even today as the world is engulfed in a state of perpetual war where distrust and anger grows on both warring sides.

Denmark: Flame and Citron (2008, Ole Christian Madsen)

A slick and polished production about the brutal emotional wear and tear that political killing takes on an individual. The film is based on two WWII Danish resistance fighters who made their name by tracking down and shooting Nazi party members. Things get complicated when Flame learns that he may have been involved in killing innocent people. Citron refuses to acknowledge that he killed any innocent person because he wants to believe his murders were for a just cause. The information available to the duo only gets more murky and vague as the film goes along, thereby increasing their doubts and shaking their convictions.

Flame and Citron is a smart and stellar film that knows when to let the two lead actors expressions speak for themselves and does not bog the film down with needless words. There are some eye catching camera angles in the film with one of my favourite being the scene in which the Nazis raid Flame's safe house. Flame is shown to be quietly seated at the dinner table when the camera cuts to a close-up of his troubled face followed by a quick cut to show us the view from Flame's eyes which see an army of Nazis swiftly moving towards the house. Another close up gives us a look at Flame's calculating face. Any other person would have panicked in that instance but true to his character, Flame remains calm before making his next move.

Standings and Points (Maximum out of 9)

The Human Condition, part I: 9
Flame and Citron: 8
A Trip to the Country: 7
Amsterdam: 5

Flame and Citron was a very late substitute entry because the original choosen Danish entry Allegro became unavailable and amazingly, it ends up being one of the best films out of the 32.

I took a gamble with the Dutch title by picking a film I knew nothing about it in the hope of discovering a gem. Unfortunately, the gamble with Amsterdam didn't pay off. But part of the fun with this movie world cup has been trying to discover some worthy titles without reading too much about a movie before hand. So there have been some pleasant surprizes and some disappointments as well.

Soccer Group Prediction

Like the film group, this group should present a diverse set of styles and provide plenty of entertainment. However, Holland should easily win this group but the big questions around the Dutch squad have to do with Robben and Van Persie's fitness. Both are technically world class players but the duo are equally injury prone. Some say that Van Persie is just unlucky with injuries as his injury issues problems came in three seperate incidents over the last three years -- the first was caused by his post goal celebration against Man Utd and the next two took place in meaningless international friendlies against Austria and Italy. Van Persie began the 2009/10 season in fine form but Chiellini's awful tackle in the Italy game put him out for almost the entire season. Whatever the case, these injuries have certainly weakened Van Persie and it is hard to depend on him being fully fit to get through an entire tournament let along a full soccer season.

Denmark should progress to the next round in 2nd place because Cameroon have to sort out their internal team squabbles, most recently with Samuel Eto'o threatening to walk out of the team. Eto'o is clearly Cameroon's best player but equally important has to be Alex Song, who has emerged as one of best players in the Arsenal team. I had high hopes for Japan back in 2002 but since then they have been fading and it is hard to see them make any impact at this World Cup.

Note: Friends keep telling me the fact that Eto'o has stayed around means he is committed to the national team and that Cameroon will take 2nd place behind the Dutch.

2010 Movie World Cup, Group D

Group D -- Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia

Films: Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, Celia, The Perfect Picture, The Life and Death of a Porno Gang

Germany: Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler (1922, Fritz Lang)

Hypnosis, psychoanalysis, seedy gambling dens, stock market crash, mind control, greed, mystery, a long chase and ofcourse the magic words -- Tsi-Nan-Fu!

It is remarkable to think that Fritz Lang made this film in 1922. The film's black and white appearance give an indication of the production year but the story, acting and structure present a film far more mature beyond its years. Dr. Mabuse may be one of the earliest (or the first?) cinematic villians but few modern day cinematic villians can capture the brilliant insanity that Mabuse shows.

A truly remarkable epic film that is easily accessible and presents a fascinating journey into the depths of dark insanity.

Australia: Celia (1989, Ann Turner)


An intriguing film that parallels a young girl's nightmares to that of a society fearful of a rabbit plague and communists. The film also shows that not all young children absorb their parents fearful beliefs but the ones that do can become quite dangerous bullies and as a result taunt and torment kids.

Ghana: The Perfect Picture (2009, Shirley Frimpong-Manso)


The Perfect Picture is a humourous look at relationship issues of three friends and their quest to find true love in their lives. The three women are in different stages of a relationship, one is married, the second is having an affair and the third is caught between two men, but they all have their own problems. Their friendship gives them strength and comfort as they deal with their men.

This is the only light hearted film in the group and presents a nice break from the heavier material depicted in the other three films.

The Life and Death of a Porno Gang (2009, Mladen Djordjevic)


The word dark is incorrectly thrown around to describe plenty of movies but in the case of The Life and Death of a Porno Gang the word is perfectly applicable. In fact, Mladen Djordjevic's film is a base line standard that can be used to calibrate the words "dark movie" to judge other films. But ..Porno Gang is more than just dark. It is intelligent and presents plenty of material to chew on. Although the title does not do the film justice. The porn element is only at the start of film and is shown in a comedic manner like what is shown in Zack and Mirni Make a Porno. The film then moves into darker territory with violent torture elements related to snuff films and even a bit of Hostel. Since it is a Serbian film, a war/political layer is tacked onto the snuff videos. It is this addition of a political layer that helps to make sense of everything and gives a framework to the film. There is also a nod to Emir Kusturica's Underground in the final scene when the main character is wearing a jacket with the word "underground" clearly visible. The connection makes sense as this film can also be seen as an indirect successor to Underground. Aside from the political elements, the film manages to explore ideas about individual identity and how society immediately shuns those that dare to be different.

The Life and Death of a Porno Gang is not the easiest film to view given its content but it a relevant film that is one of the best films of the year. And it will clearly not be playing in a North American multiplex this year. As far as I know, the film's next showing in Canada will at the upcoming Fantasia film festival in Montreal as part of their Subversive Serbia spotlight.

Standings and Points (Maximum out of 9)

The Life and Death of a Porno Gang: 9
Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler: 8
Celia: 6
The Perfect Picture: 5

Soccer Group Prediction

Like the film results, both Serbia and Germany should easily advance from this group. Serbia are much more stronger than 4 years ago when they finished bottom from a very tough group that included Holland, Argentina and Ivory Coast. However, despite their strength I am not sure if Serbia can take their chances to beat Germany to top spot in the group. On paper, Serbia should finish first in this group but in reality, they may squander their chances and only tie Germany, allowing Germany to take top spot on goal difference.

Even with Michael Essien, Ghana would have had a tough time in advancing but without him, their chances to move to the 2nd round are limited. Australia are unlikely to advance from the group stages like they did in 2006.

Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski, authors of Soccernomics, have come up with a mathematical formula that predicts that Brazil will beat Serbia in the final of the 2010 World Cup. For that to happen, Serbia would have to beat Germany to take top spot in Group D otherwise if Brazil win their group and Serbia take 2nd spot, the two will instead meet in the semis, provided if the two win their knock-out round games. But very rare do results go as expected in the world cup.

2010 Movie World Cup, Group C

Group C -- England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia

Films: Of Time and the City, Ballast, Daughter of Keltoum, How I Killed a Saint



England: Of Time and the City (2008, Terence Davies)

Terence Davies pays tribute to his home city Liverpool in this autobiographical documentary. The film is a blend of newsreel and archival footage accompanied to Davies' mesmerizing voice. Unfortunately, the end product has no fixed pattern and drifts as per Davies' memory. So the recollections feature some pleasant memories mixed with some angry recollections but not everything is engaging.

USA: Ballast (2008, Lance Hammer)

Lance Hammer's fine debut film is a poetic look at a family's ability to cope with a tragedy. The film starts off in dark circumstances and eases up gradually presenting a tiny glimmer of hope for a better future by the end. The cinematography perfectly captures the grim circumstances and Hammer is brave enough to let the images speak for themselves, without pausing to explain anything. In fact, the film plunges head first into the tragedy with no build up. After that opening sequence, we see events unfold without any unnecessary flashbacks and as a result, the film is able to maintain a consistent powerful flow throughout.

Algeria: Daughter of Keltoum (2001, Mehdi Charef)

Rallia (Cylia Malki) goes to an Algerian village to find her biological mother but her trip ends up being a brave journey across the Algerian landscape filled with danger in the form of Resistance fighters and violence related to oppression of women. What unfolds is an emotional tale about poverty, survival and strength required to take all the punches and carry on. Cylia Malki's pleasant face perfectly depicts the complex emotions required of her character who moves from innocence to defiance to anger especially at the beliefs around her. And when all the emotions have exploded, there are much needed tears to heal and repair the damaged bonds.

Note: The political, social and religious tugs in Algerian life along with violence against women have been present in one form or the other in the last few Algerian films I have seen such as Enough and Rachida. That trend continues in Daughter of Keltoum. At first, Daughter of Keltoum appears to be free from any political depiction but as Rallia leaves the village, resistance fighters make an appearance followed by issues of head covering and violence against women.

Slovenia: How I Killed a Saint (2004, Teona Strugar Mitevska)

How I Killed a Saint is a Slovenian co-production set in Macedonia and uses a brother and sister's differing life paths to depict a society wrapped up in civil war. The bubbling anger and frustration experienced by the brother could easily apply to that felt by other citizens of Eastern European nations at their country's situation and presence of foreign troops. The brother joins a political movement and decides he will take matter into his own hands to do something for his national cause but he does not realize that his violent actions will have a consequence close to home.

Standings and Points (Maximum out of 9)

Ballast: 9
Daugther of Keltoum: 7
How I Killed a Saint: 6
Of Time and the City: 5

For me the biggest disappointment was Of Time and the City. The film has been critically praised and I bought into that hype making this the first selection of my movie festival. Also, since Davies is an auteur, I felt the selection was a no brainer. Unfortunately, I found the film hugely disappointing and one of the poorest selections out of the 32.

In a way, the selection of Of Time and the City and its disappointing end result is reflective of the English soccer team. The English media hype their team up time and time again expecting them to win the World Cup yet the English team has been very tactically weak over the last decade and that is reflected in the poor on-field results. Yes, in theory penalties have cost England in the 1998 & 2006 tournaments but those kicks only mask the incorrect tactical formations and the unimaginative display of the team. In 2002, England were a man up against Brazil in the Quarter-Finals but could not muster even a decent chance in the second half and simply faded away. Fatigue might have been a factor but something also has to be said for which players were picked and which were left out.

Soccer Group prediction

For me, this is weakest of the 8 groups in the World Cup. Despite all their shortcomings, England will comfortably advance from this group along with USA. The big question will be whether the US can beat England to the group's #1 spot. Algeria did well to overcome their bitter rivals and African Champions Egypt to qualify for the world cup but it is hard to expect any upsets from this squad like that from the 1982 Algerian team who beat West Germany and Chile 1-0 and 3-2 respectively and were then unfairly robbed from advancing from the group stages when Germany and Austria conspired to a 1-0 result.

2010 Movie World Cup, Group A

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France

Films: U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha, In the Pit, Gigante, Sans Soleil



South Africa: U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha (2005, Mark Dornford-May)

A creative interpretation of the Spanish opera Carmen set in a South African setting. The opera is moving at times but the real gems are the African music/dance sequences which are uplifting and a joy to watch. Besides these dance sequences, my other favorite moments are some of dialogue-less scenes where the memorable music forms a perfect companion to the beautiful images.

Mexico: In the Pit (2006, Juan Carlos Rulfo)

Cars. Gridlock. Congestion. Solution? Freeways. Congestion on Freeways. Solution? Building more freeways or adding another level to existing freeways.

Mexico City. Teeming with people. And the location of one of the world's longest and highest 2nd level freeway. The film starts on a tiny portion of the freeway construction site where we meet some of the people doing the hard work and the day to day physically grueling tasks. We learn about these people's beliefs, attitudes and even myths regarding the construction and Mexican life in general.

The film's true beauty shines through in the final overhead shot of the construction site which gives a glimpse into the enormous task. The extended view of the partially completed freeway puts the whole project into context and gives a magnitude of the thousands of people who toil in the sun to get the project completed on time. And then there the millions that will benefit once the construction is done.

We meet only a few people working on a small portion of the bridge but as the mesmerizing final shot shows there are many more stories waiting to be told.

A truly amazing documentary!!

Uruguay: Gigante (2009, Adrián Biniez)

Gigante is quite a treat and presents its pleasures in quietly developed moments. The film artfully mixes dry humour, beauty with a pinch of simplicity.

Jara is a lonely security guard who falls for a cleaning girl named Julia while working night shifts observing the supermarket monitors. His gazes gradually become obsessive and he starts stalking Julia. He believes she is flirting with another co-worker and follows her to a restaurant. But instead Jara finds her on a date with another man. So he then follows that man only to rescue him from a bunch of thugs. The two return back to the resturant to have some drinks and chat. Through their conversation, Jara learns that the man found Julia through an internet dating site and that she loves heavy metal. So naturally Jara goes about learning to love heavy metal in his bid to win over Julia.

There are plenty of charming humorous moments sprinkled throughout the film. Two interesting moments come in a restaurant and involve a soccer game on tv. When Jara follows Julia to the restaurant, he sits across the restaurant while looking over to observe her. In the meantime, the man next to Jara is busy watching the soccer game and chats about the game but Jara only looks on blankly.


Later in the night when Jara returns to the restaurant with Julia's date, they make small talk. Jara is only interested in getting some info on Julia whereas her date is busy watching the game. This time around, the waiter also chips in with his view about how the ref ruined the game.


It is interesting that everyone around Jara is interested in the soccer game but he shows no emotion whatsoever. The game on tv is a local league game but even if the match was a world cup game, you be sure that Jara would not pay attention. Unless someone told him that Julia liked watching soccer. Then Jara would become the biggest soccer fan in Uruguay.

France: Sans soleil (1983, Chris Marker)

A perfect choice for the movie world cup because this film does not set up roots in one place and is a travelogue that jumps in between Tokyo and Guinea-Bissau with a brief touch down in San Francisco. The film touches 3 continents and has ties to the current world cup and three of the past 4 world cups -- the film travels to USA & Japan, host/co-host nation of the 1994 & 2002 respectively; Chris Marker is French and France hosted the 1998 World Cup; the current world cup is in Africa which gets a decent viewing time courtesy of Guinea-Bissau.

The film features a series of letters read by a woman about a man's journey from the crowded streets of Tokyo to Guinnea. A memorable moment arrives in an African market when Marker's camera captures a woman's smile and beauty.

Ofcourse, the woman knows a pair of eyes (and a lens) are on her, so we see her look away yet she is still aware of the presence fixated on her face.

There are many other images which stay long in the memory.

Standings and Points (Maximum out of 9)

In the Pit: 8
Gigante: 8
Sans Soleil: 7
U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha: 6

It was a very tough decision deciding who got top spot as there is very little to seperate In the Pit from Gigante. My choice was made more difficult by the fact that I saw both films almost 6 months apart -- I saw In the Pit back in December and recently saw Gigante in May. In the end, I have to give a narrow nod to the Mexican documentary.

Soccer Group Prediction

I would not be surprized if like the film results both Mexico and Uruguay advance to the second round. On paper, Uruguay are the most capable team in changing their tactical formations with Mexico not too far behind in adapting to different styles. As is often repeated, no host team has failed to advance from its group. South Africa is not a very strong tactical team and a noisy home crowd may not be enough to power them through to the next phase. On the other hand, if South Africa can get an early goal, then there is a chance their spirits might be lifted by the home crowd. Also, South Africa's opener against Mexico presents them with a good chance of nabbing a win or atleast a draw.

As for France, I have no hope. France have been mostly inept, dull and uninspired under Raymond Domenech. Domenech is not entirely at fault though because he did inherit a pretty weak team after Euro 2004 but he has done nothing to improve the French game. The ultimate blame for France's failure should not rest on the players or Domenech but should be put on the French Federation's shoulders. They had a chance to put things right after a disastrous Euro 2008 but they did nothing. The French Federation know the team will fail which is why they were quick to name Laurent Blanc as Domenech's replacement well before the World Cup. The Federation did this to take away some of the anger that will be directed towards them once France stumbles and fails. The biggest surprize for me will be if France advances from this group. And I will be even more surprized if France manages to score more than 1 goal in any of the three group games.

For now, I am going to go with Uruguay and Mexico to finish 1st and 2nd in the group.

2010 Movie World Cup, Group H

Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

Films: The Spirit of the Beehive, A Crude Awakening, El Porvenir, Historias de fútbol



Spain: The Spirit of the Beehive (1973, Victor Erice)

Victor Erice said in an interview that the following image of Frankenstein formed the genesis for The Spirit of the Beehive.

This picture of a monster's interaction with a young child is turned into an extraordinary tale about how a nightmare haunts a young fragile mind and leads that child into darker territory. The film starts off innocently by showing the allure that cinema has but young Ana is mesmerized by the image of Frankenstein. She has questions about the movie but her sister lies to her and says that Frankenstein is a spirit that can be summoned at will by Ana. After that point, the images of Frankenstein grab hold of Ana's psyche and change her perception of reality. Also, things are complicated by the external situation that exists in a post civil war society and under a dictatorship. In a way, this film forms an early predecessor of Pan's Labyrinth.

Switzerland: A Crude Awakening (2006, Basil Gelpke & Ryan McCormack)

Oil. Progress and root of evil. A double edged sword.


On one hand, oil fuels human progress further but on the other hand, it threatens to take society back to the stone age with the destructive wars that its possession causes. The documentary starts off by showing excess dependence on oil before moving onto discussion about peak oil and the future decline of oil supply. The film also shows some examples of places that have run out of oil, such as the following oil field in Baku.



Finally, the movie ends with a discussion about possible alternate sources of energy. A Crude Awakening is about 4 years old and since 2006 there has been much debate about the dangers of over dependence on oil and the need for alternate source of energy. Yet, changes are happening slowly.

Honduras: El Porvenir (2008, Oscar Estrada)

In April 2003, 69 prisoners, mostly gang members, were killed in a violent clash inside the El Porvenir penal farm in La Ceiba, Honduras. The killing was put down as an isolated incident involving fights among rival gang members but the brutal slaying indicates that it was a preplanned event. The film constructs a thorough investigation by including detailed accounts and opinions from the two opposing sides -- the victims families are interviewed along with prison inmates, and prison guards. Estrada then steps back and looks at the series of events leading up to the clash and puts the incident into a larger social context by examining why young people are lured into gangs in the first place. The film shows how poverty and basic human necessities forces some people into gangs and also examines the role of corrupt/inefficient police and government officials in making things worse.

El Porvenir is a model example of a good documentary as the film objectively tries to examine an event and does excellent research in looking at the larger issues around the event.

Chile: Historias de fútbol (1997 Andrés Wood)

The film is divided into three short stories titled First half, Second Half and Overtime. All three segments demonstrate love of football with the “First half” showing the professional game and issues such as bribing and betting. The “Second half” presents a pure love for the game that can only be found at the youth level. “Overtime” looks at the obsessive addiction to the game that men develop. Yet, “Overtime” is also the most mature segment and shows that lust for a woman can make a man forget about the game. Soccer may be an obsession and sole focus for a single man but as a man grows up and discovers other loves, soccer is integrated into their daily lives along with their job and relationships and is no longer their only focus. Well in theory atleast.

A normal soccer match goes down in skill as the game goes into overtime because the tiring legs prevent too many genuine creative chances. However, Football Stories is strongest in the "Overtime" segment and is weakest in the "Second half."

Standings and Points (Maximum 9)

El Porvenir: 8
The Spirit of the Beehive: 7
Historias de fútbol: 6
A Crude Awakening: 5

Note: Rules and point criteria.

El Porvenir is a real gem of a discovery and it is still a mostly unknown entity. The films is still not listed on imdb.com. I had high hopes for Historias de fútbol because I was very impressed with Andrés Wood's 2004 film Machuca but Football Stories is disappointing.

Soccer Group Prediction

Despite their injuries and possible fatigue, Spain should easily win the group. Chile had an excellent world cup campaign and should follow Spain out of this group. Ottmar Hitzfeld will ensure the Swiss put on a good display but Switzerland's style will be a complete contrast to Chile and Honduras. The Honduran squad has some good players in David Suazo, Wilson Palacios and Amado Guevara but it is hard to see them progress out of this group.

2010 Movie World Cup, Group F

Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia

Films: Il Divo, Paraguayan Hammock, Black Sheep, Orbis Pictus

Italy: Il Divo (2008, Paolo Sorrentino)

This glossy political film based on real life prime minister Giulio Andreotti has some interesting moments in its depiction of corruption and abuse of power. While the film does a decent job in showing how easily truth and justice can be extinguished in a democratic system, it is still tame and disappointing. The dramatic introduction of some characters does not mesh with the film's overall low key tone and as a result, the film does not have a consistent feel.

In a way, Il Divo is an appropriate choice for the movie world cup as the Italian soccer team disappoints more often than lives up to its potential. Even though Italy won the 2006 World Cup, it should have won the 1990 and 1994 tournaments but failed to play to its potential. Italy should have done a lot better in 2002 but fumbled out due to their own mistakes; the ref incorrectly sent Totti off but Vieri should not have missed an open net and Italy should have stayed with 3 attackers in the second half against South Korea. Also, it can't be forgotten that Italy were a mere 30 seconds away from winning Euro 2000 but eventually lost out to France. So like the Italian soccer team, Il Divo promised plenty, offered some nice moments, but failed to deliver a winning end product.

Note: linking political leaders to mafia and murder may not be seen too much in North American films but it is a common topic in most Bollywood political films. Even average Bollywood films do a good job in depicting the ruthless nature of politics and showing how easily rules can be twisted in a democracy. Some of the better political movies such as Gulzar's Hu Tu Tu, Satta, Shool, Haasil and Gulaal provided me with more viewing pleasure than Il Divo.

Paraguay: Paraguayan Hammock (2006, Paz Encina)


Paz Encina's meditative film evokes sentiments of Beckett's Waiting for Godot. An elderly couple sits around in a hammock, talking and waiting for their son to return from the war. The two do fear that their son will not come back and later on in the film, the father does indeed learn that the war has been over but his son has failed to return. But the two still wait not for happiness in the form of their son but instead for death which can be seen hovering in each frame amid the silence. Their time is passed away by simple activities and talk of rain, which also threatens to occur at any moment.

Simple. Haunting. Poetic.

Note: It took me almost 3 years to track this film down but the wait was worth it.

New Zealand: Black Sheep (2006, Jonathan King)


Beware the killer Sheep! Beware even more of the killer sheep that can drive!



Given the number of jokes that circulate about kiwi's and sheep, a horror treatment was long overdue to bring in some balance. The real experiments of cloning sheep are used as a germ of an idea in Black Sheep to create a dangerous killer sheep. The film ultimately comes off as a B grade horror movie with unexpected laughs in scenes of serious biting and blood letting. Though there are a few well done moments such as the following scene in which the top of the frame is packed with sheep rushing to attack the unsuspecting humans.


Slovakia: Orbis Pictus (1997, Martin Sulík)

A young girl's, Terezka, journey across the land to track down her mother leads to unexpected meetings and adventures. Terezka gets plenty of help and advice along the way but also has to guard against some lustful eyes. Her journey, aided by a map, leads her to the poetic end of the world. The film does a good job of keeping out darkness by incorporating a playful and innocent tone througout.

Standings and Points (maximum 9)

Paraguayan Hammock: 8
Il Divo: 6
Orbis Pictus: 6
Black Sheep: 4

Il Divo narrowly takes 2nd spot over Orbis Pictus.

Soccer Group predictions

Starting with Italia 1990, Italy has failed at the World Cup everytime I expected them to do well. But when I had no expectations in 2006, they ended up winning. So will something change this time around? Yes. I do not expect Italy to achieve anything and I am sure they will comply. It is hard to see this Italian team make it to the semi's but they have enough talent to win their group and advance to the next round.

2nd spot will come down to Paraguay vs Slovakia with New Zealand finishing comfortably in 4th. For now, I am going to pick Paraguay to advance even though my instinct tells me Slovakia will go through.