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.

Constant Noise

Question: What is loud, annoying and refuses to shut up?

Answer: Barcelona football club.

The 1000th story doing the media rounds is yet another Cesc to Barca headline.

After Arsenal told Barca a firm NO, Laporta refused to shut up and continued making noise.

35 million euros a fair price for Cesc?

Are you having a laugh?

And then there is Barca's official mouthpiece, Xavi, who just keeps talking and talking. I always knew Xavi to be an expert passer but I had no idea he was an expert PR rep.

Barcelona have officially become more annoying than Real Madrid in their lustful chase of Arsenal players. After Henry and Hleb, Cesc is their latest obsession. Yes, Cesc was once a Barca player. But Barca only have themselves to blame for letting him go. They didn't value him and now are desperate to get him back. Why do Barca want him so badly? Because Barcelona football club loves showing the world what a spoiled brat they are.

I have lost all respect for Barcelona football club. If there is justice, then Barcelona will not win a single trophy next season.

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.

2010 Movie World Cup, Group B

Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece

Films: Liverpool, Without Shame, Like you Know it All, The Lost Monument



Argentina: Liverpool (2008, Lisandro Alonso)

Simple. Poetic. Liberating. Lisandro Alonso’s film is as beautiful and fluid as watching a perfect Messi goal.

Liverpool starts with a lonely man, Farrel, leaving a ship’s confined space and heading off into a vast open land. The purpose of Farrel’s journey is to seek closure by seeking out his past. The audience also makes this journey along with Farrel because Alonso’s flexible camera film allows one to breathe in the environment and take in all the sights and sounds.

This breath-taking film is easily a front runner for winning the movie world cup!

Nigeria: Without Shame (2005, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen)

It was only appropriate to dig up a Nollywood title to represent Nigeria. In order to narrow down the search, I started off with the insightful Canadian documentary Nollywood Babylon. The documentary focuses on the films and methods of Lancelot, a film-maker with over 150 films to his name. I decided to pick a film at random from his collection and ended up with Without Shame.

Steve rebels against his father's (Ben) second wife Jenny and refuses to accept her as a mother. Steve's flirting activities bring him in conflict with Jenny leading her to leave the house. After Jenny’s departure, her sister, Nina, comes for a visit but wants to leave when she finds out that Jenny is no longer at the house. However, Ben calmly and causally asks Nina to stay because he does not have anyone to cook and clean the house. And to make things worse for Nina, both father and son rape her every night. When Jenny returns, Nina is too ashamed to admit anything and continues living in the household. The film ends with both father and son escaping from getting caught with their pants down. However, Ben and Steve learn about each other's sexual relationship with Nina. Without Shame 2 offers another complicated twist in the form of a second affair for Ben leading to three pregnancies before everything is resolved albeit in deadly fashion.

Without Shame is a soap opera packaged in two parts and serves as an example of the appeal that some Nollywood films have in their portrayal of familial issues and relationships.

South Korea: Like you Know it All (2009, Hong sang-soo)

Film Festival, movie directors, programmers, festival jury, alcohol, artists, food, love, lust, jealousy and rape. Sounds like an average film festival? or Hong sang-soo’s version of a film festival?

A film director's trip to a festival to be part of the jury leads into an unexpected diversion towards a long lost love surrounded by pit falls of affairs and alcohol fueled talk of art, inspiration and fame. Similar to Hong sang-soo’s Woman is the Future of Man, the conversations in Like you know it all are fluid and the words flow almost effortlessly. Ofcourse, it is alcohol and food that serves as a lubricant for ensuring that the characters loosen up and speak their mind and express their feelings, thereby moving the film through a series of sexual conquests obtained either by mutual consent or force.

A true delight of a film.

Greece: The Lost Monument (2009, Stefanos Tsivopoulos)

The only short film in the movie world cup but the film's beauty and simplicity makes every second count of the 27 minute running time.

A discovered statue of Harry Truman makes an extraordinary journey across Greece and Turkey, via land and water. Each person who discovers the statue has their own take on the identity of statue and its meaning. And through each leg of its journey, the lifeless construction presents a political angle no matter where it goes.

The most beautiful sequence takes place after the statue is pulled out from the ocean and the tired men gaze at it.

Additional Info: Film description and director’s notes.

Group Standings with a maximum of 9 points at stake

Liverpool (Argentina): 9
The Lost Monument (Greece): 8
Like you Know it All (Korea): 8
Without Shame (Nigeria): 4

Liverpool is a clear winner with the Greek short film edging out the Korean film by a narrow head-to-head count.

Note: Point Rules and criteria.

Soccer Group predictions

It will be interesting to see how Group B in the World Cup will compare with the movie world cup standings. Argentina should be a clear group winner despite any mistaken decisions that Maradona will make. After Argentina, it is a toss up to see which one of the other three will advance to the second round. The Greek team will be organized defensively but they may find goals hard to come by while Korea and Nigeria are not as strong as past tournaments. If I have to go for a 2nd place team, I will go with Greece.

This film will never play in a theater near you

Film Comment recently published a poll listing the Best Avant-Garde films and video from 2000-2009. Out of the 48 films in the list, the two most accessible films are Apichatpong Weerasethakul's 17 minute short A Letter to Uncle Boonmee and Guy Maddin's The Heart of the World. Joe's film is available to view via the website formerly known as the Auteurs and Maddin's film is available on DVD. The rest of the films are not available on DVD and there is a 100% certainty that some of them will never be on DVD. But if these Avant-Garde films are not going to be on DVD then how are most cinephiles going to see them? Now some critics & directors argue that these Avant-Garde films are meant to be seen only on the big screen. Ok. Fine. I will listen to that argument. But how can most people who don't live in the few chosen North American cities see these films on the big screen? I know this may be a big shocking statement but there are cinephiles in North America who don't live in New York or L.A. I know. That is a pretty loaded statement. So I will let it sink in a few seconds.....before I reveal....

there are cinephiles in Canada. I know. Too much to take. And...gasp, there are Canadian cinephiles who don't live in Toronto or Vancouver.

Film Festivals would be a logical answer to see these films but some of the smaller film festivals can't afford to bring these movies in. And not all cities have cinematheques/art house/indie theaters to showcase the films.

The other argument I have heard is that if people want to see famous art pieces, they have to go to a museum, which is usually far off. So if people are willing to travel to Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin or New York to see art pieces, why should some films be forced to show at smaller venues across the world? But the problem with this argument is that museums don't change all their art exhibits on a weekly basis. The Louvre does not keep sending their works to Berlin, London, New York after showing them on display for a few days. Sure there are some exhibits that travel but even then these exhibits stay in a designated spot for atleast a week. Whereas, there are some films that only show once or twice at a famous film festival before disappearing for a few months.

So what's the solution to prevent these films from being out of most people's reach? Apparently, none.

I don't think producers or directors should give these movies for free to smaller festivals or venues but is it reasonable to expect smaller cities to pay the same amount as a New York festival? And even if a smaller venue offers the same money as NY, there is no guarantee that all producers or directors will allow their film to go to an unknown film festival.

So is there a solution? Nope!

Some form of cinema is apparently only for a select few. But film-makers who don't want their films to be seen by most people should not then complain about the trashy cinema that is mass produced and widely available nor should they complain about audience tastes. Audience have to be first given real cinematic choices, otherwise they will continue to consume substandard fare. This does not mean if given a choice, most people will opt to see different cinema nor does this mean that all Avant-Garde cinema is superior to conventional cinema. But people should atleast be given the choice.

I should clarify that I don't know of a single example from the above list where a film-maker has refused their film to be shown at a smaller venue. Some of the film-makers in the list probably are open to the idea of showing their films in smaller cities. In other cases, maybe the problem is that not all festivals or art house theaters have made the effort to get some of these films booked. My words have to do with the lack of DVD availability of these films. For me, accessibility to a film is more important that arguing if one format for seeing the film is more important than the other. I will gladly watch a film in any format provided I have the option to see the film.

On another note...

I wouldn't be surprized if Canada has more film lovers per capita than the US because it snows (or rains if you are in Vancouver) all the time so most people might spend more time indoors. I am not kidding about the snow all the time though. It is May 29th and it is still snowing outside my window...so to prove my own words wrong, I will be out of the house all day today and not see a single movie :)

2011 Copa America Film & Book Festival

The 2011 Copa America tournament is more than a year away but I have to start preparations for a personal tie-in competition this summer because unlike the 2007 film edition, I plan to have a literature category as well. So that means I will pick a film and a book from all the nations taking part in the 2011 tournament.

Also, unlike 2007, I will not draw the books and films into groups as per the soccer tournament. Instead, I will pick an outright winner from all the books and films.

Books

The main criteria for a book's selection is that the author must be born in the appropriate South American country. If that criteria cannot be met, then it is acceptable to choose a book from a foreign born author whose origins can be traced back to the South American country in question.

Argentina: Hopscotch by Julio Cortázar
Brazil: Philosopher or Dog by Machado de Assis
Bolivia: The Fat man from La Paz by Rosario Santos
Chile: 2666 by Roberto Bolaño
Colombia: Rosario Tijeras by Jorge Franco
Ecuador: Huasipungo by Jorge Icaza
Paraguay: I, The Supreme by Augusto Roa Bastos
Peru: Conversations in the Cathedral by Mario Vargas Llosa
Uruguay: Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano
Venezuela: Chronicles of a Nomad by A.A. Alvarez

Films

The selected film must either be a country's production or co-production. If a co-production cannot be found, then it is acceptable to pick a film made by a director originating from the appropriate South American country.

So far, these are the only selections, with remaining titles to be added in upcoming months.

Argentina: The Secret in Their Eyes (Juan José Campanella)
Chile: Tony Manero (Pablo Larraín)
Colombia: Crab Trap (Oscar Ruiz Navia)
Peru: Milk of Sorrow (Claudia Llosa)

10 or 12

Currently, Mexico and Japan are also invited to the Copa America. However, it is unclear if the two will eventually take part or not. If both nations are allowed to compete, then I will add in a film and book to represent the two countries.

Pause...Start

All the book reading and film viewing will start after the conclusion of this summer's World Cup.

---

[Update: July 5, 2010]

Some of the books have changed with the following entries replacing the ones mentioned above:

Brazil: Zero by Ignácio de Loyola Brandão
Bolivia: Aurora by Giancarla de Quiroga
Chile: The Secret Holy War of Santiago De Chile by Marco Antonio de la Parra
Colombia: The Armies by Evelio Rosero

The Uruguayan entry will most likely change as well with the new novel being either a work from Martinez Moreno or Juan Carlos Onetti.

---

[Update: Aug 23, 2010]

One selection change and two more film entries selected.

Argentina: Pablo Trapero's first feature Crane World (1999) replaces The Secret in Their Eyes as the Argentine entry.

Brazil: Black God White Devil (1964, Glauber Rocha)

Uruguay: A Useful Life (2010, Federico Veiroj)

---

[Update: Nov 15, 2010]

The draw for the 2011 Copa America has been made and both Japan and Mexico will indeed take part.

Group A: Argentina, Colombia, Japan, Bolivia
Group B: Brazil, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela
Group C: Uruguay, Chile, Mexico, Peru

Thankfully there are no shortage of books and films to choose from both Japan and Mexico but the following two books make the cut:

Mexico: The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela
Japan: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Films selected so far..

Argentina: Crane World (1999, Pablo Trapero)
Bolivia: Cocalero (2007, Alejandro Landes)
Brazil: Black God White Devil (1964, Glauber Rocha)
Chile: Tony Manero (2008, Pablo Larraín)
Colombia: Crab Trap (2009, Oscar Ruiz Navia)
Peru: Milk of Sorrow (2009, Claudia Llosa)
Uruguay: A Useful Life (2010, Federico Veiroj)
Venezuela: El Don (2006, José Ramón Novoa)

---

Copa America 2007 Film Festival Revisited

1) Rules and Film picks.

I managed to get films from 11 out of the 12 countries taking part. The only missing entry was from Paraguay. Back in 2007, I failed to track down Paraguayan Hammock, a film that I finally managed to acquire for the 2010 Movie World Cup.

2) Group A results.

Films:

Uruguay: Whisky (2004, Juan Pablo Rebella/Pablo Stoll)
Peru: Dias de Santiago (2004, Josue Mendez)
Bolivia: Dependencia sexual (2003, Rodrigo Bellott)
Venezuela: Oriana (1985, Fina Torres)

3) Group B results.

Films:

Brazil: The Man Who Copied (2003, Jorge Furtado)
Mexico: El Compadre Mendoza (1934, Juan Bustillo Oro/Fernando de Fuentes)
Chile: Coronacion (2000, Silvio Caiozzi)
Ecuador: Como voy a olvidarte? (2004, Edgardo Viereck)

4) Group C results.

Films:

USA: North by Northwest (1959, Alfred Hitchcock)
Argentina: The Official Story (1985, Luis Puenzo)
Colombia: Los Ninos Invisibles (2001, Lisandro Duque Naranjo)
Paraguay: none

5) Final First round group standings.

6) Quarter Finals.

Quarter Final 1: Uruguay (Whisky) 5-0 Colombia (Los niños invisibles)
Quarter Final 2: Mexico (El compadre Mendoza) 3-3 Bolivia (Dependencia sexual)
** Mexico win on penalties
Quarter Final 3: Brazil (The Man Who Copied) 2-3 Argentina (The Official Story)
Quarter Final 4: USA (North by Northwest) 5-2 Peru (Días de Santiago)

7) Semi Finals.

Semi-Final 1: Uruguay (Whisky) 5-1 Mexico (El compadre Mendoza)
Semi-Final 2: Argentina (The Official Story) 2-4 USA (North by Northwest)

8) Final and third place.

Third place: Mexico (El compadre Mendoza) 3-3 Argentina (The Official Story)
Mexico wins its second penalty shoot-out to take third.

Final: Uruguay (Whisky) 3-2 USA (North by Northwest)
The wonderful Uruguayan feature Whisky (Juan Pablo Rebella/Pablo Stoll) wins top prize.

2006 Movie World Cup Revisited

I wanted to gather the 2006 Movie World Cup results in one location. The 2006 Movie World Cup was a unique experiment that proved to be such a success that I followed it up with three further soccer movie tournaments -- 2007 Copa America, Euro 2008 and the upcoming 2010 Movie World Cup.

1) Rules and kick-off notes.

I could only manage to track down films from 22 of the 32 countries taking part. Although it was impossible to get films from all 32 countries back in 2006 as Saudi Arabia only made its first feature back in 2006, a title that I have still not come across. The good thing was that I able to have 2 films from each of the 8 groups so atleast a fair tournament was possible.

2) 1st round results.

3) 2nd Round. Also known as the Round of 16.

4) Quarter Finals.

5) Semi-Finals.

The final four films were:
South Korea: Lady Vengeance (Park Chan-wook)
Holland: Turkish Delight (Paul Verhoeven)
Brazil: The Middle of the World (Vicente Amorim)
Germany: Signs of Life (Werner Herzog)

6) Final and 3rd place.

The Brazilian film edged out the German entry narrowly on an emotional penalty shoot out to claim top prize.

Joe to the rescue

Given Apichatpong Weerasethakul's track record for making beautiful films, I am not surprized at reading some of the glowing words and ratings that are pouring out from the screening of his new feature Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. Here's hoping that his film does pick up an award later tonight at the closing ceremonies.

The pure joy from watching Joe's films is to witness the perfect marriage between beautiful hypnotic images and calm serene (or eerie) sounds. The following two pictures from his short film A Letter to Uncle Boonmee don't have the same impact without listening to the sound of the winds rustling through the trees.

And at night time, when all is quiet and still, does the haunting start.














A sighting of the mysterious creature in the poster of Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is first seen near the end of the short film A Letter to Uncle Boonmee. The creature is seen slowing making its way through the woods before the camera fades to black.

Yet, the darkness lingers on. The haunting sounds echo far longer than the running time of the 17 minute short film. Will the feature quieten those sounds?

---

[Update, May 24, 2010]

Joe does indeed win the Palme d'Or!!!!!!

The rain in Spain falls mainly on English plains

The stories about Cesc refuse to go away. So looking into the crystal ball, here are some notes about future, 2011 and beyond, English and Spanish league title battles.

This Cesc saga is like Cristiano Ronaldo, part II. That means Cesc will leave the Gunners in 2011 after helping Arsenal to an impressive 2nd place finish next season. 2nd place will double the expectations of 4th place, thereby exceeding the Arsenal board's goals significantly. But Cesc won't go alone to Barca. Wenger will follow him there next year allowing Guardiola to move in the other direction to Arsenal. Guardiola will immediately try to target titles but that will not go down well with the Arsenal board who would prefer Pep merely give the illusion of challenging for the title rather than win it.

Man Utd will continue to push Pep's Arsenal and [revolving foreign manager]'s Chelsea for the title despite Man Utd being 3 trillion dollars in debt. Some will eagerly await Man Utd's demise but England will declare Man Utd too big to fail and use government money to prop the team up, ensuring that no matter how much debt Man Utd have, they never go a single season without challenging for a trophy, even if that trophy is the meaningless Tesco Cup (formerly known as the Carling Cup).

Over in Spain...after Jose takes over at Madrid, Wenger would be forced to chase 2nd spot at Barca. Wenger never managed to get the winning goal over the bus parked in front of Jose's Chelsea so the same pattern would repeat when Jose's Madrid takes on Wenger's Barca. Also, in typical Jose fashion, the bus will be designed to look like an airplane. But in Madrid, Jose would need to play free flowing football as the fans there are likely to boo a dull 1-0 win. And if Jose complains about booing fans, well, he would be out the door.

Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez will take over at Valencia again and spend 300 million pounds to build a 3rd place team which will finish 34 points behind the champions. Rafa will then demand another 200 million the following summer to make a title charge. But his expenses will force Valencia into administration thereby allowing Ronald Koeman to come in and finish the job of getting Valencia relegated.

On the other hand, Seville will continue winning the Copa Del Rey and flirting with 3rd and 4th spots while getting atleast a home win over the big 2. Atletico Madrid will again fail to win against their rivals Real Madrid in the derby matches despite holding a 3-0 lead with 5 minutes left in a game.

Beauty and the Beast

There is no doubt that Barcelona plays the most beautiful football in the world. Yet, they also exhibit ugliness on and off the field. If one looks carefully, then each Barcelona game will demonstrate a few moments of playacting which occurs in between their artistic moves and passes. Their on-field ugliness is personified best by Sergio Busquets, a player who will dive when given a chance and do his best to get an opponent sent off. Messi and Bojan are also capable of crying foul when there isn't one. Off-field, they are taking a leaf out of Madrid's book in terms of acquiring players negatively. Starting from the mid 1990's, Real Madrid have been famous for unsettling players contracted to other clubs. Since negotiating with a player is considered illegal without a club's permission, Madrid are kings of using other means to let a player know they want him. Madrid often let out via media outlets (paper, radio and internet) that they are interested in a player, thereby making an indirect yet illegal move for the player. The player then becomes unsettled and demands a move. Madrid then walks into the club's offices and offers to take the troubled player off the club's hands.

Madrid hounded Arsenal for Patrick Vieira's signature for years and only failed to land him because Vieira had a change of heart at the last minute. Ronaldo was chased for a few years before Man Utd were forced to cash in on the Portuguese star. Barcelona adopted the same bullying tactics when it came to getting Henry and Hleb from Arsenal. And for the last few years Barcelona have been after Cesc Fabregas. It is entirely understandble that Cesc would want to return to his birth city and play in front of his family and friends. Arsenal took Cesc from Barca's academy but they did that with Barcelona's permission. Barcelona didn't realize the star they had in their hands and let him go. And since Cesc has established himself as a top notch player, Barcelona have been trying every means to get him. If Cesc wanted to go, then that should be between him and Arsenal. For the last few years, he has expressed his loyalty towards Arsenal time and time again. Yet, that does not stop Barcelona from making advances.

This transfer saga will go on for the entire summer, even after the world cup is over.
Rafael Yuste, one of the Catalan club's vice presidents, said bringing Arsenal captain Fabregas back to Barca, where he was a youth player, was "more complicated because lengthy negotiations with his club lie ahead".

Things are complicated because Arsenal do not want to sell. Simple as that.

From a footballing standpoint, Barcelona do not need Cesc as the duo of Xavi and Iniesta are more than enough. But Barcelona like Madrid are notorious for signing players for non footballing reasons. Every time there are presidential elections, Barcelona and Madrid's presidential candidates want to sign a big name player as part of their election campaign. Yet, there are many examples of both team's failed signings. Madrid splashed out tons of money on Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema and failed to land a single trophy. Prior to that Madrid wasted the talents of Sneijder and Robben, two players who have excelled since they left Madrid. Barcelona brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and any fan could have predicted that move was not going to work. On top of that, Barcelona failed to make use of Hleb and Henry. Thierry Henry atleast showed his genius in Barcelona's treble winning season but Hleb was a complete flop.

Barcelona and Madrid would be better off concerned with their own team rather than desiring players who are contracted to other teams. Both team's officials spend more time lusting after other team's players than concerned with the ones they have. Once they land in their cherished player, they then move onto a new desire. Two clubs with such a rich history do not need such ugly transfer tactics, yet not a season goes by without reading about Barca and Madrid's desired wishlist.

25 days until kick-off

The sun is shining and the snow has melted. Dare I say it? Winter might finally be over...for a week atleast. Having seen snow storms in every calendar month in Canada, I am never convinced of the disappearance of that fluffy white stuff. Betting on snow in a Canadian summer might be a safer option that betting on this summer's world cup winner. Maybe age does change one's priorities but I approach this summer's tournament with even less enthusiasm than the 2006 edition. Although I had reason to not care for the 2006 World Cup because the 2002 edition was such an awful joke, with all the tired European league based players not able to muster decent performances and the ones that were able to compete for 90 minutes were thwarted by incompetent decisions by refs and linesmen. Only South Korea, Japan, Senegal and Sweden provided some genuine world cup memories in 2002. 2006 was thankfully much better and it featured a rarity in the semi finals when Italy fielded 3 attackers. Watching an Italian team attack and not defend is an occurrence that is seen less frequently than Halley's comet but the attacking habit paid off as Italy overcame the hosts Germany in brilliant fashion.

The 2006 final was a bet of a let-down but then again most world cup finals hardly ever live up to their reputation. One would have to go back to the 1986 final between Germany (then West) and Argentina as being a worthy duel. The Italia 1990 final was decided by an incorrect penalty decision after an otherwise wretched game, USA 1994 was uneventful but that owed more to the extreme heat the game was played in because the organizers wanted to have the game kicked-off in time for the evening European tv market, France 1998 was completely one-sided because Brazil did not show up and the 2002 final was mostly average.

In a way, the 2010 World Cup has an unknown factor around it because the tournament is held in Africa for the first time. Yet, the ultimate outcome will be decided by how fresh and motivated the European based players are after yet another long season. North Korea will be the exception in this regard as they have only one European based soccer player but then again, no one knows what North Korea can bring to the table. Back in 1966, they were able to spring a surpize because they were an unknown entity. So it is remarkable that 44 years later, the North Korean soccer team still remains largely unknown despite increased soccer coverage from around the world. There are no new tactical formations that have to emerge on the global scene so it would be quite the story if North Korea provided a formation along the lines of 2-3-2-3 or 3-1-2-3-1.

On paper, Brazil's squad looks to be the weakest in decades but that owes more to Dunga's decision to have a more efficient and tactical team that is concerned about winning than style. So Brazil might either be boring and win or they will be plain awful, almost as bad the 1990 Brazilian team which had no flair or style.

Technically, the best players in the world are Messi (Argentina), Ronaldo (Portugal), Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc and David Villa (Spain), Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie (Holland). These guys exhibit exquisite ball control, precision passing and are capable of beautiful goals. Yet, injury and fatigue will play a part in whether these players can shine. The Dutch trio will once again have that injury question mark over their heads, while Iniesta and Cesc still have to prove their fitness. Ronaldo will be found doing his step overs and dives but it is hard to see him shine in an otherwise average Portuguese side. Messi will be invisible and that will have more to do with Maradona's bizarre selections and formation than anything.

Drogba, Rooney and Torres have proved time and time again that they are the three best strikers in the English league but out of the trio only Drogba is fit and ready to go. Fernando Torres is still injured but if he recovers then he has the ability to show why he is the most complete striker in the world. The extent of Rooney's injury is a mystery. I believe he may be more injured that what is let out but no matter what his situation, he will still take to the field for England. It is impossible to imagine him not playing for the English.

All the 30 member squads for the 32 teams. The squads will have to be trimmed down to 23 come June 1.

Buried in movies...

Back in December I had fully expected to finish watching all my 32 movies from all the world cup countries before the tournament kicked off on June 11. With under a month to go, I still have 10 movies left to watch. I may still be able to meet my target date but it will be close. Thankfully, there are no interesting movies opening in the local cinemas to tempt me away from these world cup films.