I’ve been working in film exhibition in one way, shape, or form for the last ten years. It’s an often fascinating industry as it merges art and commerce in a variety of ways, and there are very few other worlds that I can imagine working in and feeling satisfied, challenged, and inspired. That being said, it isn’t always easy. It can be incredibly stressful, involve long hours, and sometimes eat up those days off.
Then, there are those moments, not always so rare at the Walker, that I’m reminded of why I chose this path and all that comes along with it. One of these moments came last night when I finally took the opportunity to sit and watch Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait in its entirety. On a personal level, this is everything that the cinema is supposed to be. Experiencing this film projected from a nice 35mm print on a huge screen surrounded by some of the most innovative and engaging sound design I have ever witnessed, was a great reminder of why I took an interest in film to begin with and why I’ve always worked so hard to keep the cinema experience alive.
The film is incredible. It is indeed a portrait of one player, in one game, on one day, and the film takes you incredibly close to Zidane, but keeps you an arm’s length away, left wondering about the meanings behind the simplest actions - Zidane dragging his toes while he walks or removing the wristband as he leaves the field. The details are absolutely stunning, but the directors constantly pull you away to see the bigger picture - literally through the visuals, but also aurally by manipulating the scale of the sound you’re hearing, from the roar of the crowd to the isolated sound of the footfalls on the field. It utilized audio in ways I have never experienced before. Being there in a room full of soccer and film fans and witnessing the larger-than-life scale was the only way for me to get the full scope of what Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno were trying to do.
At this point, I’m still reeling from the entire weekend. I am grateful that our curators, Sheryl Mousley and Dean Otto, decided to take the risk of screening such a unique film, and it’s incredibly gratifying to be a part of presenting the kinds of work that can’t often be seen otherwise. I hope that you were amongst the nearly 2000 people that came to the Walker to see the film (Thank you so much if you were!) or that you get the chance to see this elsewhere under similar circumstances.
If you have seen the film, I’d love to read your thoughts. Please post your responses here.
I’ve also been thinking a lot about this film since I saw it yesterday. I was so glad I came back to the 6 PM showing on Sunday after the 2PM had to be canceled because of the fire alarm. I think I was expecting a film that would be more like watching the game itself, but closer up. And there was a lot of that: the sheer volume of the noise of the crowd; the fact that the players’ field of vision must be interrupted by all those flashing advertisements at the level of the pitch; the sounds of the ball and the body slams (did they add that later? how did they filter out the different layers of sound?) the sweat. But the opening sequence going from the blurry television images to that intense super-closeup of the pixels that fill the screen so intensely I had to unfocus my eyes for a minute, and the wall of sound immediately took me to the idea of film itself, in its multiple forms, and as an experience in a theater that has no equal with TV or DVD. We were not going to be watching a game. Then my lingering narrative expectations (who has the ball now? who got fouled? who scored?)quickly gave way to the exhiliration of the film: we could see the crowd behind Zidane stand and scream at some event we couldn’t see; we could see how he was constantly vigilant to what was going on in every direction, but our focus was on him, not on the game. Whether it is because this was made at the end of his professional career or because he is so insanely gifted that he doesn’t have to run around to be right where he is supposed to be, I was surprised at how deliberately he moved–he didn’t start to run until he was ready to do something, but when he did it was as if he went into another dimension of speed and perception. And why does he do that little foot-dragging hitch when he’s walking? Is it a way to keep himself grounded? was it something he started doing when he was playing in the streets?
I’ve also been thinking a lot about how this film means something different to us because of the World Cup events, because of Zidane as a public figure in France and the politics of race, how all those discussions affect our understanding of the end of the film now.
Comment by Joanna O'Connell — 2/12/2007 @ 12:53 pm
I have many impressions of the film and, unfortunately, not the time to write them right here and now. I will try to do so in a day or two. Meanwhile you might also find some comments later this week at this site:
http://www.dunordfutbol.com/
But I thought I would answer the question about Zidane doing the foot dragging hitch when he walked because I have heard many “non-players” ask about it since seeing the film. I often do this when I play (but I am now realizing that I only do it when I play on grass - not when I play “indoor” soccer) and I have seen many other players do it. I can't speak for why other players do it and I know that it has become a sub-conscious act for me. But I believe I do it to keep the tips of my toes up tight into the front of my boots so they feel tighter on my feet, allow me to “burst” into a run quicker when needed, and afford a better touch on the ball when I need to kick it. I also believe I do it more when my boots are wet due to playing on wet or dew-covered grass. Hope this makes sense...
Comment by Ken — 2/12/2007 @ 4:59 pm
Many thanks for the explanation, Ken. Your blog was a regular stop for this fair-weather football fan during last year’s World Cup, so I’m looking forward to your thoughts on the film.
Comment by Joanna — 2/12/2007 @ 6:55 pm
Joanna,
FYI - *dunord* is not “my” blog. All credit goes to the fabulous Bruce who maintains one of the best, and most appreciated soccer blogs on the planet. Bruce also happens to be a well rounded music and film afficianado, which I am not. I’m sure he and others will provide great insight into the film later this week.
Comment by Ken — 2/12/2007 @ 9:48 pm
What’d you make of the one scene that showed everything else that happened the day of the game: a rare woodpecker thought extinct was discovered in the US, Elian Gonzalez spoke in Cuba, a car bomb went off in Iraq. It struck me as a jolting dose of “reality,” since it was the only section of the film that didn’t take place on the “green square” of the field. As an Iraqi man carried a person away from the bomb wrecked (dead? injured?), a boy walks by wearing a Zidane jersey with the number 5 on the back. Is this a commentary on sports (that, despite athletes’ intense focus, it’s still just a game and somewhat irrelevant in the scope of human events)? A commentary on globalization? A reference to Zidane’s ethnic background?
Comment by paul — 2/13/2007 @ 11:10 am
Although I have read some reviews which found the halftime passages to be trite, I found the message of “what will be remembered of this day” to be compelling. There are many who will remember the result of what really was a fairly meaningless football match (at that point in the season Barcelona pretty much had the title wrapped up) while those same people will not remember that hundereds died in a natural disaster or the political events that occurred which effected so many lives. Wheres the result of the game effected no one in particular. This makes a statement on what is truly important to people and how they use such meaningless events to define their lives, even if those events are not within their control, while blocking out other less meaningless events which may also not be in their control, or even effect them, but have a broader impact on humanity.
Here is the review that I submitted to Dunord about the film:
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I am by no means a movie buff, much less a critic. But in terms of film as an art, I would say that I felt the movie struggled at times. In fact I would say that they were fortunate to have chosen a game where Zidane is red-carded as a full 90 minutes of simply focusing on one player would have been too much. The music certainly helped to break up the monotony of the setting and to set a tone. I also believe that, although interesting, some of the occasional subtitles, including portions taken from Zidane interviews were, at times, oddly placed and seemingly unfitting for the chosen moment.
I would also expect that there were many soccer fans who attended who walked away disappointed, and since seeing the film I have spoken with a few. I think that is mostly their own fault for expecting that the film would provide some broader insight into Zidane's skills and abilities on the field. And also for not being willing to let go of the actual match being played and try to focus on the film as an experiment in human motion and form within a broader context which is unseen but known.
One thing that I did anticipate about the film, and which I do believe it delivered on, was the experience of being one player of 22 on a large field, and still the sense of isolation and loneliness that one can experience as a football player. As a goalie this is something that I can especially relate to as I spend every game with my teammates backs facing me and as someone who is usually ignored except when my services are required. But I think this sense of isolation and loneliness can also be experienced by field players who often can go for minutes without any interaction with other players on the field. And when they are playing in front of thousands of fans that sense of loneliness can be heightened due to the inability to communicate with other players via any other method than hand movements and head gestures. So they often move about, seemingly uninvolved, waiting for the movement of the ball to involve them. And then when the ball does come to their feet the isolation is even more heightened as all eyes are on that one player to see if they do the "right thing" with the ball. Not doing so leaves one even more isolated. I believe the film was able to express these feelings to those who had the capacity to understand them.
Out of 5 stars I give it a 2.7
Comment by Ken — 2/15/2007 @ 11:29 am
Thanks everyone for the thoughtful and insightful comments. Ken, it’s really interesting to hear a player’s perspective as I didn’t get an opportunity to speak to many players over the course of the weekend.
Comment by Joe Beres — 2/15/2007 @ 11:46 am
I am happy that Minnesota residents were able to view this film in its intended setting. I hope that we can encourage the High Museum in Atlanta to offer the same opportunity. See http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/?p=240 for a review, emphasizing the film’s contribution to modern portraiture.
Comment by John Turnbull — 2/26/2007 @ 8:57 pm
I went to see the picture at the cinema on the first day of its release with two friends, all three of us play football on a regular basis but it seemed that i was the only one who was mesmerized by the film. I have since bought the DVD and watched it a second time being equally as thrilled as the first time if not more so. I was looking forward to seeing it more than anything else and i wasnt dissapointed at all.
The only dissapointment, if at all, were the subtitles during the “half-time” display of things happening in the world on that day; simply because some of them were unreadable due to a similarity in colour between the writing and some of the background pictures.
Moving on to the footballer point of view i can say that i am (like Ken) also a goalkeeper and can, on a minor scale relate to the loneliness he mentions. However while being “just” a goalkeeper i was admirable of Zidane’s touch, his vision, his ability to make an impact without putting hismelf through the paces; only a skill acquired by legends as they see passes and oppurtunities 2 or 3 moves before anybody else, and most of all his passion for the game (when he defends his team mate Raul and receives a red card in the process). These are the credentials of a top footballer.
The most noticeable attribute of the crowd for me was that although throughout the match Zidane only seemed to misplace one pass, every action he made was applauded clearly by the crowd, whether it be a sharp turn or a piece of skill finished off with a neat pass to a team mate.
The purpose of the movie wasnt to show Zidane at his ultimate best as some may have hoped (and this is why they were perhaps let down), it was to show that even on an average day when Zidane was not at his best, he could still be seen as gliding across the turf providing the perfect pass whilst somehow overshadowing his team mates and opponents without even getting out of 3rd gear or digging deep for inspiration. After all, is it not because he makes it look so easy that we admire him in the first place? Is it not because even at half his best he steals the show? It is here that his magnificence is amplified as he does the simple things and makes them look fantastic.
As a last point i would like to say that one of the reasons he was reasonably ineffective in the first half is due to his position, he is not a left sided midfield player. Im sorry to delve into tactics but when Luis Figo comes on for Ronaldo in the mid second half and pushes wide, it forces Zidane to take up a more central role, and it is here that he is most effective, and where he can rip defences apart with the killer pass or sneak peek of sheer brilliance to give himself more space allowing his team mates to flourish. This is obvious as he gets more into the game here and seems to be on the ball a lot more often.
I thought the film was absolutely brilliant, and as most of the comments above show, you dont have to be a fan of football to recognise brilliance.
Comment by Alex — 6/7/2007 @ 1:52 pm
I absolutely adore zinedine zidane! What a hottie!
Comment by sylvie equiano — 4/12/2008 @ 11:21 pm