DVD Review: Back of the Net (2019)

Now Available

Before she accidentally got on the wrong bus and wound up not at Harold Academy Australian Semester at Sea but Harold Soccer Academy instead, the only experience that young gifted American science student Cory Bailey (Sofia Wylie) had with the sport was spray painting soccer balls for her AP solar system diorama.

Forced to get a lot more acquainted with soccer since, by the time she's discovered her mistake her ship has literally sailed and her parents are practicing medicine in New Dehli at the moment, Cory has no choice but to make peace with the ball she'd much rather paint than kick.

Thrilled when she finds out she'll be able to study chemistry — as all student athletes are required to take classes at the academy as well — although soccer takes some getting used to, Cory is determined to make the best of it. Buoyed by a great group of new friends including cute, talented player Oliver (Trae Robin), though she's tested throughout Louise Alston's jubilant feature Back of the Net, Cory's positive attitude goes a long way when she makes an enemy out of Tiarnie Coupland's queen bee, Edie.

While there's nothing original about TV movie veterans Alison Spuck McNeeley and Casie Tabanou's admittedly paint-by-numbers script which adheres very closely to the underdog sports movie playbook established over the last five decades of cinematic storytelling, Net stays afloat with its upbeat spirit and breakneck pace.

Planting the seeds for actual depth and/or stronger subplot potential early on, such as when we learn that Oliver's financially strapped family has been going through a tough time, unfortunately the eighty-two minute feature doesn't give moments like these the time or support needed to let them bloom. Yet although it might not win over adults who've seen so many underdog sports movies that they've gotten the mechanics of the plot down to a science, by refreshingly centering its tale on a young woman of color and hiring women behind-the-scenes to bring it to life, this girl power movie's heart is definitely in the right place.

A surprisingly effective — if ultimately underwhelming — combination of science and sport, Alston's film is sure to strike a chord with its target audience who may have seen the Australian feature on the Disney Channel before its recent DVD release. While Back of the Net doesn't manage to transcend its predictable formula, by moving as fast as a soccer ball down the field, its irrepressible enthusiasm and infectious energy is hard to deny.

Text ©2019, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. https://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy or screener link of this title in order to voluntarily decide to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique. Cookies Notice: This site incorporates tools (including advertiser partners and widgets) that use cookies and may collect some personal information in order to display ads tailored to you etc. Please be advised that neither Film Intuition nor its site owner has any access to this data beyond general site statistics (geographical region etc.) as your privacy is our main concern.

DVD Review: Next Goal Wins (2014)

Now Available to Own 
   


Photo Slideshow   

For professional athletes, the phrase "you can't win 'em all" is not only a cliched motto – it's also a job hazard that goes along with the territory. But at the start of this moving documentary, we meet the members of a soccer team on the opposite end of the spectrum that's out to prove that they can't (and won't) lose 'em all either since even one win would be a step in the right direction.

And while every player has had a bad night, only one has ever endured the horror of having served as goalie during an infamous match back in 2001 when Australia beat the American Samoa soccer team with a spirit-crushing victory of 31-0.

Still haunted by the events of that game and the obnoxiously adhesive, unjust nickname of “the world’s worst goalkeeper” that followed him to the mainland after Nicky Salapu emigrated to Seattle, the dutiful and dedicated player returns to his homeland nearly every year to take his place on the team and (hopefully) change the world’s mind in the process.

Getting revenge for a career that’s been relegated to the stuff of sports trivia on pub quiz nights (which British helmers Mike Brett and Steve Jamison acknowledged was part of the reason they chose to tell his team's tale for their nonfiction feature filmmaking debut), Salapu engages in a nightly ritual where he replays that game vs. Australia on his Xbox.

Illustrating the passionate drive, national pride and indefatigable spirit of the team where players show up to practice despite working anywhere from three to five jobs, going to school, and fulfilling all their obligations to family, church and community, Brett and Jamison bring us one of the most easily memorable and naturally uplifting sports-related documentaries I’ve seen in a long time.

Matching the commitment displayed onscreen by the team offscreen with their film, after Salpu temporarily retired (having never won a game in his entire life), the directors remained devoted to capturing the efforts of the players who refused to give up despite being ranked dead last for ages.

As such they encountered one of the biggest surprise of their filmmaking lives when – after American Samoa management called the soccer federation for help before a FIFA World Cup qualifying match – they're sent the one and only applicant for the job in the form of Dutch coach Thomas Rongen who has a mere month to turn things around.

A tough-talking atheist who’s overcome a devastating loss in his own life, Rongen arrives as a Cool Runnings-like fish-out-of-water. Initially hitting the community with the force of a tropical storm, the colorful Rongen immediately clashes with those in charge before ultimately changing the team and by extension the future of the Pacific Island community in a twist so perfectly plotted that you'd almost believe the filmmakers had planned it that way all along.

Reaching out to not only Salapu but a couple of other prospects who – like far too many of the island’s youths leave American Samoa for the mainland or the military because there are so few opportunities available there to make a living – Rongen brings in athletes ready to play for the pride they have in their cultural heritage vs. (the nonexistent) big payday.

Vowing to whip the existing team into shape, the middle-aged Rongen takes a grueling three hour hiking trail up a mountain in order to inspire some of his players that can't physically last through an entire game to get into peak World Cup condition.

Working with their former coach (whom in the addictive first act we discover is almost as quotable as their far more boisterous replacement) to help get a better read on the team, Rongen is able to bring the group together on the field and off in a way that’s as emotionally moving as it is downright entertaining.

And although it’s the infectious enthusiasm and integrity of the players that eventually winds up making global headlines after the team not only scores a goal but manages to win a game, Next's viewers are quick to realize that we've been witnessing heroism all along (regardless of whether the scores or statistics reflected that).

Much like the eponymous kids who hurriedly yell “next goal wins” before returning home for dinner or back to class in time after recess, Brett and Jamison’s vital work celebrates those who play for the love of the game.

A stunning and vivacious digitally shot production, Next Goal Wins is refreshing in that it has absolutely nothing to do with headlines about draft picks, contract negotiations, free agent greed, or commercial endorsements that we hear about far too often and everything about who the American Samoan players are as individual people and as an overall team.

Whether it’s in the simple victory of a game for Salapu or a much more emotionally cathartic journey than Rongen had ever knew awaited him when he first stepped off the plane with his wife, Goal is naturally inspiring in its study of a team that’s never known the meaning of the phrase “paycheck player” and a community where there’s no such thing as a "fair-weather fan."

And this is particularly evident in the film’s most moving portrait about a player who (despite being listed as Johnny on the roster) lives 24/7 as Jaiyah Saelua as a member of fa'afafine or Samoa’s third gender and not only brings her full heart and soul to each game but is also – as we quickly discover – the heart and soul of the overall team.

From chronicling Jaiyah's evolution from the biggest fan on the bench to the first transgender player ever to start in a World Cup qualifying game to the way a teammate that didn’t see a single second of game-time is nonetheless captured in a New York Times photo with an enormously proud smile on his face, Goal is a winner in every sense of the word.

And with this in mind, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the House of Mouse turns Next Goal Wins into another finely crafted formulaic Disney sports movie inspired by actual events in the same vein of Runnings, Remember the Titans, or Glory Road.

Yet even if they do, they’ll never be able to duplicate the authenticity, excitement and hard won wisdom of the actual American Samoan players in this Tribeca Film Festival official selection.

A mesmerizing debut, Goal champions the true American underdog spirit far away from the continental U.S. that exists on a tiny pacific island where a certain goalkeeper returns every year, waiting for a non Xbox-related Australian rematch.

Text ©2014, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

Her Best Move

"GOOOOOOOOOOAL!"

Director: Norm Hunter

To most, “soccer is life” is a phrase best suited to t-shirts or bumper stickers but to Gil Davis (Gilmore Girls’ Scott Patterson), that simple statement is taken to extremes. And unfortunately, while his chance for soccer glory has passed due to a bum knee, he’s passed down this very belief to his bright, dutiful, and athletically gifted fifteen-year-old daughter, Sara (Leah Pipes) in director Norm Hunter’s festival award-winning family comedy Her Best Move.

And although the DVD cover is sure to blend in with dozens of straight-to-DVD titles aimed at tweens and teens, I’m here to tell you that it’s worth a second look. Additionally, don’t let the deceptively bubble-gum styled opening with bright girly credits and a teenage friendly soundtrack fool you into thinking it’s nothing more than yet another clichéd film about life for teenage girls. For when Her Best Move kicks into action, I quickly realized that in this case, first impressions are incredibly deceiving.

As the film begins, it seems like it’s a typical day in Sara’s increasingly hectic and demanding life as she navigates her way through high school with her best friend Tutti (not to be confused with Tootie from The Facts of Life), played by Lizzie McGuire’s Lalaine. And although her overbearing father’s preoccupation with the game has caused a rift in her parents’ marriage, Sara has tirelessly devoted ten years of loyal obedience and God-like worship of her dad who remains obsessed with turning Sara into the youngest player on the U.S. National Team. Moreover she’s never questioned his strict military-like regimen consisting of endless practices and disgusting smoothies in his attempt to live vicariously through Sara. In fact, given their tight bond, she seems to legitimately fear that without the game they would have little, if anything, in common.

However, quickly into the film, she realizes she’s in for a rude awakening when everything else she’s been forcing to the back burner soon starts rising to an overwhelming boil and she must choose her own menu for the future. Admittedly, given that last sentence, I will grant that the film does follow along the predictable and unceasingly popular coming of age path so often utilized for the target demographic — not to mention that given the sport in question, it’s sure to draw endless parallels to the vastly superior Bend It Like Beckham.

But while that film had a much larger message to offer about tolerance and racial and gender equality, Her Best Move knows exactly the story it wants to tell and it does so with the utmost of class, integrity, and refreshing wholesomeness in presenting us with an undeniably gifted athlete who has to cope with not only parental expectation but also how it’s affecting her social life in those all too crucial (and extraordinarily awkward) teen years. And although she fears that no guy wants to date a “jockette” which is evidenced in a cruel Notting Hill styled scene as Sara overhears gossip and offers some mean boys an attitude adjustment when they ridicule a photo of her, she soon finds herself drawn to the school’s new mystery boy, Josh (Drew Tyler Bell).

Adorable and sweet, Bell is cast as the prototypical outsider — shy, sensitive, and prone to hiding behind the camera he’s never without, snapping photos for the school’s paper and yearbook. And while everything about Josh would normally scream “stalker” to the average bear in our cynical day and age, especially given that he seems far too anxious to photograph Sara’s every move, soon the two “odd kids out” realize that they have much more in common than they would think and a flirtation develops.

Eager to spend time with both her best friend and her crush as well as begin participating in her second love of dance, Sara finds herself stretched far too thin, making tough choices, stumbling every so often but routinely bouncing back, while trying to always keep her head up and her eye on the ball.

In addition to receiving the Dove Foundation’s seal of approval along with numerous awards, the feature filmmaking debut from director, producer, and co-writer Norm Hunter (who collaborated with fellow newcomer Tony Vidal on the script), Her Best Move was screened as an Official Selection at prestigious festivals across the country including the Seattle, Boulder, Florida, and Newport International Film Festivals.

Filled with authenticity as Hunter reveals on the film’s official website that the heartfelt crowd pleaser was derived from his own years as a Select soccer coach as well as his experience as a father, the film, which co-stars a hilarious Daryl Sabara (as a John Hughes era geek a la Pretty in Pink and Sixteen Candles), earned raves from real life soccer legends including Brandi Chastain.

Recently released on DVD with zero features aside from the option of playing it either as a full screen or widescreen presentation, unfortunately the film may suffer the ill-effects of bad timing market-wise as it’s hitting the shelves darn near the exact same time as the latest straight-to-disc offerings from Disney.

And while it’s sure to flounder in the sea of the overwhelming built-in audiences anxiously awaiting the newest Miley Cyrus and Camp Rock items, it’s well worth exploring and celebrating this wholly welcome surprise that treats its teens respectfully instead of artificially. Admittedly, having zero experience with the item, I can’t speak for Camp Rock, but in the world of Hunter’s Her Best Move (and especially bolstered by the charismatic turn from its lead star Leah Pipes), the kids are definitely alright indeed.

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation

Director:
Cao Hamburger

With such masterworks as De Sica’s The Bicycle Thief, Truffaut’s The 400 Blows, Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso, Doillon’s Ponette, and Majidi’s Children of Heaven, it’s become a favorite practice for foreign filmmakers to tackle stories of tremendous depth and scope from the eyes of an innocent child struggling to make sense of a changing world, political climate, economic strife and/or a threatened family dynamic. And indeed these are the types of films that manage to engage audiences regardless of age and gender who all instinctively side with our precocious hero, wanting to protect them from harm, comfort them if they’re scared and love them when they’re lonely. Instead of tales of talking animals voiced by Eddie Murphy or sarcastic brats who always manage to hit annoying adults in the crotch, consistently we find solace in these stories of heartache and compassion from around the globe. However, the frequent success and release is a double-edged sword as the works have become not just highly marketable but so expected among foreign film fans that unless the filmmakers try desperately to set themselves outside the pack of the aforementioned works in the vein of movies such as Salles’s Central Station, Dupeyron’s Monsieur Ibrahim, or Malberti’s Viva Cuba, they’re nearly guaranteed to get overlooked, lost in the shuffle of too little advertisement for foreign titles, until they’re interchangeably shelved at a local library or video store, saved only when a film fan just happens by in the mood to take a chance on an unknown offering.

While unfortunately saddled with a forgettable title and misleading trailer that seems to set it up as though it were Monsieur Ibrahim 2 or Central Station: The Return (which makes me fear for its eventual life collecting dust at Blockbuster), director Cao Hamburger’s The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is anything but forgettable. Understated, brilliant, heartrending yet surprisingly filled with warmth and charm, Year, which was chosen as the official selection by Brazil for the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 2008 Academy Awards after earning accolades from around the globe, was co-produced by City of God director Fernando Meirelles. Despite the fact that Hamburger as well as some of the cast and crew including the talented cinematographer Adriano Goldman (City of Men) have collaborated with Meirelles either on God or Men’s television and film incarnations, Hamburger’s family friendly yet welcomingly deep coming-of-age story has none of the overwhelming violence nor sense of inescapable despair of Meirelles’s masterpiece God. Yet, as in God, we’re transfixed by the plight of a young man trying to navigate through the tumultuous 1970’s in Brazil.

Set in 1970 just after the legendary soccer (or “football”) player Pele scored his 1,000th goal positioning the country to claim the World Cup, Year finds preteen Mauro (Michel Joelsas) more concerned with collecting the likenesses of his favorite players to complete his card collection and mastering the art of table soccer, than paying much attention to the effects the cold war is having on the totalitarian regime running his native Brazil. Shortly after the film begins, we find ourselves as confused as Mauro when his devoted parents Bia (Simone Spoladore) and Daniel (Eduardo Moreira), hurriedly pack up their son in their old blue VW, flee the city of Belo Horizante to head for Sao Paulo in order to leave him with his estranged paternal grandfather who resides in the tight knit Jewish suburb of Bom Retiro. Informing young Mauro that they have no choice but to go on “vacation” as we deduce that his left-leaning parents are political activists trying to outrun governmental persecution, he’s promised that they will return before the first game of the World Cup. However, after a series of unfortunate events find Mauro unable to stay with his relative, he’s left mostly to fend for himself while becoming the unofficial mascot of the community, forming an awkward alliance with his grandfather’s neighbor, the predominately Yiddish speaking, devout Shlomo (Germano Haiut) and befriending young Hanna (a terrific Daniela Piepszyk) an adorable tomboy who lives in the same building. Preoccupying himself with table soccer and obsessing about the World Cup, the lonely Mauro who’s so devoted to his parents that he remains in arm’s length of the phone for extended periods until he’s lured outside by Hanna, begins to come out of his shell, although at the same time, realizes that in the wake of political turmoil, the term “vacation” may mean something much different than he’d imagined.

Although one can make the case that there’s nothing overly innovative about using sports as a metaphor to unite a community as Pele’s heroics manage to inspire everyone in Bom Retiro, Cao Hamburger never lets the film’s subtext get lost in what could have been a contrived loss-of-innocence paradigm. And not content to solely utilize Mauro's limited, naïve look at Brazil’s political situation, Hamburger expertly explores the boy's associations with a memorable cast of characters and takes a character vignette approach that’s echoed by numerous cinematographic touches with an emphasis on a “rack focus” as the camera racks to show the reaction of any number of individuals in a scene. It's by weaving a genuine tapestry of diverse perspectives that we’re painted a much more intricate portrait of the goings-on, feeling genuinely touched, heartbroken, and enlightened by the therefore well-earned conclusions Hamburger makes as the film rolls along towards its conclusion.

One of the best films released so far in 2008, Year is much richer than one would’ve assume given the bland tone of the trailer. Featuring a phenomenally deft portrayal by its young lead who was chosen in an exhaustive six month search from one thousand auditions (IMDb) and a strong supporting cast including the underused Liliana Castro and Caio Blat as two adults who befriend young Mauro, The Year My Parents Went on Vacation, is one in a long line of quality foreign films depicting a country’s evolution from the eyes of a child. In addition it's hopefully one that--given enough positive word of mouth-- won’t land helplessly forgotten amidst a pile of “unknown” limited releases all pushed aside to make room for the latest celebrity driven blockbuster filled with gross-out gags and toilet humor pandering to the lowest common denominator for family entertainment. So pack a suitcase for the trip-- The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is a true gem and well worth the trouble of tracking down.

Mad About Mambo

Director:
John Forte

Perhaps they should’ve called it Bend it like Baryshnikov. In writer/director John Forte’s formulaic yet delightful Irish sleeper, inspired by a new Brazilian addition to the Belfast United, a teenage aspiring “footballer” (a.k.a. soccer player to us Yanks) from West Belfast decides that the answer to improving his game lies in getting rhythm while turning the beat around via ballroom lessons.

Of course, it helps matters when he realizes that it’s a great way to meet girls, especially the most talented girl in the class, the wealthy Protestant Lucy McLoughlin (Keri Russell), who spoiled and snobbish, not to mention steadily dating the handsome Oliver (Theo Fraser Steele) tries to ignore the lower class, Catholic newcomer.

However, after a friendly soccer game played by the boys leaves Oliver with an injured foot just before the local professional competition, Lucy changes her tune enough to let the new lad Danny Mitchell (William Ash) serve as her partner.

Although she tells him that this arrangement is strictly platonic and professional, head-over-soccer-shoes Danny tries his best to charm the lass but mostly succeeds in winning over her successful businessman father Sidney (an amusing Brian Cox) before his daughter predictably succumbs.

Despite a few overly predictable plot points and the fact that this copycat film will never feel as fresh as those that came before it such as the brilliant Breaking Away by Peter Yates, writer/director John Forte’s film has enough charm to go around thanks not only to the likable leads but also a great supporting turn by Maclean Stewart as Danny’s best mate Mickey who aspires to be a fashion designer.

Produced by Gabriel Byrne and inaccurately called Mad About Mambo when the dance performed throughout is the samba, Forte’s film is sure to delight teen audiences and admirers of the beautiful Russell.