Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait (Zidane, un portrait du 21e siècle)
Does a footballer deserve a feature-length film dedicated to him? More so, do we need a distantiating sub-documentary profile? At its very core, Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait is a screening in real time, albeit subverted, of a Real Madrid football match (versus Villareal on April 23rd 2005) that you could see in any consumer comfort home or bar in the developed world. Cable channels (particularly in Britain) have special features such as the player cam where, at the touch of a button, one can watch a player closely and follow his movements. In terms of footballers still playing today, Zidane would be one of the players of choice to get a closer look at his genius. After about five minutes, we would likely lose interest and want to see the game in its real perspective again.
Conceded, Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno have come up with a very ambitious project, and full marks for completion but the ends don’t quite justify the means. What sounds in theory very exciting comes across as mundane and quite nauseating. It’s a fly on the wall (or 17 fly’s considering that’s as many synchronised cameras are set up here) study of a footballer, but most of us want to see some justification to the spectacle that world football is. Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait should therefore have focused on the man in and outside the game, so what we see on the pitch could have benefited from these departures and interjections. Rule One: Keep the audience’s attention. Messer’s Coupland and Parreno seem to have thrown away the rulebook here and receive an early booking.
Classic football films have been few and far between. The beautiful game has never caught the attention of the Hollywood Dream Factory as it not their national sport. Therefore, it’s been left to the rest of the world to celebrate, notably Europe and South America, though enthusiasm is now catching up everywhere else, including the States. In fiction, it was dominant in the plot (as in The Arsenal Stadium Mystery from 1939) or has played an important backdrop (The Blue Lamp, for one) many times. Otherwise, it seems that a documentary style approach has worked much better. Goal! World Cup 1966 is one that certainly springs to mind, mixing perfectly Pathe News style with an exciting formal approach from two foreign directors covering the World Cup in another country, even in spite of straight narration British-style from Brian Glanville.
As for a direct comparison to Zidane, there is the now rarely seen Football as Never Before (Fußball wie noch nie, 1971). The subject of that particular film was George Best, arguably an even better player, albeit less durable, than Zidane. At the time, German director Hellmuth Costard’s film would have been more original and unique, perhaps influenced by a Worholian aesthetic. When first hearing of this film, it came as a bit of a surprise. Though some eight years in the planning, the man responsible for the installation 24 Hour Psycho shows us another example of Conceptual Art testing our endurance.
The truth is that Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait sounds much better than it actually is. If you’re a football fan, you probably won’t find it too engaging. If you’re not you may find it perplexing, unless Zidane the person fascinates you. He is a compelling and enigmatic character and the answers he gave to interviews for the film come up in appropriate moments on the screen as sub-titles. This and only this gives us a departure from the game itself, which actually seems quite strange without the match commentary we are used to. Also, because we are not present at the game, nor have a panoramic view of the pitch, it creates an even greater distance from the audience when surely the sole purpose was to draw us in.
After a while, you wish you saw more of the other players who only make cameo roles in the film, even though they are significant in the game. Roberto Carlos, David Beckham of Real Madrid and Diego Forlan, are (in 2005) world-class players considered to be at the peak of their game but only feature when with Zidane. Therefore, the film is subverting reality and becoming a solipsist viewpoint from Zidane. In fact, if the title had referred to being from the mind of Zidane, it wouldn’t have been so misleading. A 21st Century portrait seems to have a classical ring to it, but you will not fooled by its reverential post-modern interpretation.
In fact this film can be considered an almost direct copy of the George Best film 35 years later. Herein lies issues with Gordon’s claim to originality. Even a strange soundtrack from Scottish band Mogwai doesn’t add to the atmosphere but makes us more distanced from what’s happening. Ultimately the sound and picture editing create a subdued atmosphere which, while attempting to see the game from the viewpoint of Zidane, makes the camera a wondering collection of flies that are attracted to a man in a white football top as he appears to wander aimlessly around a field.
Finally, if you don’t know the score or what happened at the end, I won’t spoil it. However, those who follow football will know it was to have a prophetic warning for something that was to happen a year later. As an artefact, time may vindicate the Zidane film but right now it’s chasing the game somewhat.
Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait (Zidane, un portrait du 21e siècle), France/Iceland, 2006
Directed by Douglas Gordon’s and Philippe Parreno
Cast List: Zinedene Zidane
Running time: 92 mins
Related Links
IMDB Address: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478337/
Release Dates: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478337/releaseinfo
Official Site: www.zidane-themovie.com/index2.htm
Does a footballer deserve a feature-length film dedicated to him? More so, do we need a distantiating sub-documentary profile? At its very core, Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait is a screening in real time, albeit subverted, of a Real Madrid football match (versus Villareal on April 23rd 2005) that you could see in any consumer comfort home or bar in the developed world. Cable channels (particularly in Britain) have special features such as the player cam where, at the touch of a button, one can watch a player closely and follow his movements. In terms of footballers still playing today, Zidane would be one of the players of choice to get a closer look at his genius. After about five minutes, we would likely lose interest and want to see the game in its real perspective again.
Conceded, Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno have come up with a very ambitious project, and full marks for completion but the ends don’t quite justify the means. What sounds in theory very exciting comes across as mundane and quite nauseating. It’s a fly on the wall (or 17 fly’s considering that’s as many synchronised cameras are set up here) study of a footballer, but most of us want to see some justification to the spectacle that world football is. Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait should therefore have focused on the man in and outside the game, so what we see on the pitch could have benefited from these departures and interjections. Rule One: Keep the audience’s attention. Messer’s Coupland and Parreno seem to have thrown away the rulebook here and receive an early booking.
Classic football films have been few and far between. The beautiful game has never caught the attention of the Hollywood Dream Factory as it not their national sport. Therefore, it’s been left to the rest of the world to celebrate, notably Europe and South America, though enthusiasm is now catching up everywhere else, including the States. In fiction, it was dominant in the plot (as in The Arsenal Stadium Mystery from 1939) or has played an important backdrop (The Blue Lamp, for one) many times. Otherwise, it seems that a documentary style approach has worked much better. Goal! World Cup 1966 is one that certainly springs to mind, mixing perfectly Pathe News style with an exciting formal approach from two foreign directors covering the World Cup in another country, even in spite of straight narration British-style from Brian Glanville.
As for a direct comparison to Zidane, there is the now rarely seen Football as Never Before (Fußball wie noch nie, 1971). The subject of that particular film was George Best, arguably an even better player, albeit less durable, than Zidane. At the time, German director Hellmuth Costard’s film would have been more original and unique, perhaps influenced by a Worholian aesthetic. When first hearing of this film, it came as a bit of a surprise. Though some eight years in the planning, the man responsible for the installation 24 Hour Psycho shows us another example of Conceptual Art testing our endurance.
The truth is that Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait sounds much better than it actually is. If you’re a football fan, you probably won’t find it too engaging. If you’re not you may find it perplexing, unless Zidane the person fascinates you. He is a compelling and enigmatic character and the answers he gave to interviews for the film come up in appropriate moments on the screen as sub-titles. This and only this gives us a departure from the game itself, which actually seems quite strange without the match commentary we are used to. Also, because we are not present at the game, nor have a panoramic view of the pitch, it creates an even greater distance from the audience when surely the sole purpose was to draw us in.
After a while, you wish you saw more of the other players who only make cameo roles in the film, even though they are significant in the game. Roberto Carlos, David Beckham of Real Madrid and Diego Forlan, are (in 2005) world-class players considered to be at the peak of their game but only feature when with Zidane. Therefore, the film is subverting reality and becoming a solipsist viewpoint from Zidane. In fact, if the title had referred to being from the mind of Zidane, it wouldn’t have been so misleading. A 21st Century portrait seems to have a classical ring to it, but you will not fooled by its reverential post-modern interpretation.
In fact this film can be considered an almost direct copy of the George Best film 35 years later. Herein lies issues with Gordon’s claim to originality. Even a strange soundtrack from Scottish band Mogwai doesn’t add to the atmosphere but makes us more distanced from what’s happening. Ultimately the sound and picture editing create a subdued atmosphere which, while attempting to see the game from the viewpoint of Zidane, makes the camera a wondering collection of flies that are attracted to a man in a white football top as he appears to wander aimlessly around a field.
Finally, if you don’t know the score or what happened at the end, I won’t spoil it. However, those who follow football will know it was to have a prophetic warning for something that was to happen a year later. As an artefact, time may vindicate the Zidane film but right now it’s chasing the game somewhat.
Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait (Zidane, un portrait du 21e siècle), France/Iceland, 2006
Directed by Douglas Gordon’s and Philippe Parreno
Cast List: Zinedene Zidane
Running time: 92 mins
Related Links
IMDB Address: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478337/
Release Dates: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478337/releaseinfo
Official Site: www.zidane-themovie.com/index2.htm
posted by Steven Yates at 3:41 PM
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