Next Goal Wins ****
Dirs: Mike
Brett, Steve Jamison. With: Thomas Rongen, Jaiyah Saelua, Nicky Salapu. 97
mins. Cert: 15
In 2001, American Samoa
suffered international football’s worst defeat, losing 31-0 to Australia. As
underdogs go, there were literally none more under – they were still bottom of
FIFA’s rankings when the 2009 tsunami waterlogged their pitch – and this deluge
of misfortune blows Mike Brett and Steve Jamison’s buoying doc off the
predicted trajectory: for much of it, you can’t see this lot scoring, never
mind winning. Instead, time is spent painting an unfailingly warm and generous
portrait of a community determined to move on: the signing of exuberant Dutch
coach Thomas Rongen nudges everybody forward, while tightly edited match
footage highlights the players’ improving workrates. Progress ensues elsewhere,
too: there’s a narrative supersub in Jaiyah Saelua, a transgendered centreback
who, by her own admission, runs “like a girl”, yet tackles like Chopper Harris
– and is embraced by her teammates without snickering or suspicion. As an
antidote to Premier League cynicism, it really couldn’t be bettered.
Next Goal Wins opens in cinemas nationwide today.
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