| SYNOPSIS:
Real,
The Movie is the first official movie about Spanish soccer
club Real Madrid. Produced by the same club and directed by
film director Borja Manso, the movie premiered in the club's
stadium Santiago Bernabeu on August 25, 2005. A mix of documentary
and drama, Real. The Movie tells the history of the club and
the story of its fans around the world. The movie stars David
Beckham, Raul, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and many other present
and former figures from the Spanish Club.
MOVIE
REVIEW :
With
the 2006 World Cup just round the corner, this disc might
come at the right time for fans of Real Madrid. Touted as
the official movie of the renowned Spanish club, this mixed
bag of drama and documentary might not go down as well as
expected though.
The
movie opens with a history teacher who has just been posted
to a school in Spain. Through the eyes of this non-football
fan, the audience is introduced to how passionate the Spanish
is to football. Now if the storyline has stayed this way,
this will be a very interesting insight to Real Madrid and
how footballs affect Spain socially and economically. Instead
the filmmakers decide to diverge into several storylines simultaneously,
there’s a Beckham-obsessed student in Japan, a young
college female student struggling to live her dreams as a
footballer despite her injuries in New York and a poor village
boy smitten with nothing else except football.
All
these subplots if presented individually would have made an
interesting watch. But to share the running time with the
documentary portion takes the audience’s connection
out of it. There’s some must-watch behind the scenes
which show the coaches’ planning their strategies, snippets
from Real Madrid past matches and the frenzy behind the start
of every match. Other than that, the “Stars” of
the movie, David Beckham, Raul, Ronaldo and Zidane are given
almost fleeting shots. Do not expect in-depth interviews or
juicy tabloid stuff. Nope, there’s no coverage of post-matches’
parties as well. However, you do get scenes of the team players
training hard on the field.
Given the rich history of the club, it's another added pity
that the historical background is lightly delved into. The
only consolation is the interviews conducted with some of
the Club's former great footballers.
It might be a tad too hard to juggle and balance between drama
and documentary. Things would be much more captivating if
the filmmakers have opt for either one. It’s time to
go back to the strategy table if there’s a sequel.
SPECIAL
FEATURES :
This Code 3 DVD does not contain any special features.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There's
no indication of the audio technical aspects but on the whole,
the recording is satisfactory for the most parts. Visually,
the colour transfer is rich and vibrant. Stunning is the word
for some of the sequences shot.
MOVIE
RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
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