Since the World Cup is going on at the moment, it reminded me of a neat film I saw a few years ago. La Gran Final or The Great Match is by Spanish filmmaker Gerardo Olivares.
The film follows three different tribes from around the world: Mongolian nomads, the Tuareg of the Sahara (Niger’s Tenere desert), and the Indios of the Amazon (Brazil). They are all excited about watching the 2002 World Cup between Germany and Brazil. The adventure begins when they try to figure out a way to get to the nearest television set.
It’s a simple film which makes you laugh along with the characters. It also reminds you how much we have in common, despite our different way of living.
I think Olivares also wanted to show how globalization and the information age has reached even the most isolated people in the world. It’s also made me realize how much technology is a part of our life. It truly makes you feel like it’s a small world after all.
Synopsis:
“This film tells the adventurous story of three heroes, none of whom have ever met, but who nevertheless have two things in common: firstly, they all live in the farthest-flung corners of the planet and, secondly, they are all three determined to see on TV the final in Japan of the 2002 World Cup between Germany and Brazil. They all live about 500 kilometres away from the next town – and the next television – making their task a particularly daunting one. Nevertheless, these inventive people possess the resourcefulness and the willpower to achieve their goal.” - Film Movement
“A visually breathtaking, gently comic homage to the indigenous communities that are its subject and to soccer’s power to penetrate lives”
–Jonathan Holland, Variety.com
Country: Germany, Spain. Genre: Adventure Comedy
