Top Cast
-
Erik Enge
Martin Bengtsson
-
Frida Gustavsson
Vibeke
-
Alfred Enoch
Ryan
-
Maurizio Lombardi
Galli
-
Lino Musella
Luca
-
Alberto Basaluzzo
Coach Panelli
-
Gianluca Di Gennaro
Tonolli
-
Daniele La Leggia
Dario
-
Antonio Bannò
Walter
Overview
Super-talented footballing prodigy Martin is bought by top club Inter Milan, aged just 16. It’s the chance of a lifetime – but at what price?
Rating
1 Reviews
-
CinemaSerf7 Jul 5, 2022There is something really quite unnerving about this drama. It adopts a fly-on-the-wall approach to depict the brief time Martin Bengtsson spent at Inter Milan in 2004. He was a skinny, determined, 16 year old bought by this legendary football club where, upon arrival, he struggled pretty much from the start of his short-lived flirtation with top flight football. Erik Enge is really very good in the role. His desire to succeed and to sacrifice whatever is needed to achieve that, is palpably delivered as the film gradually exposes us to a culture in which success is everything. Not speaking Italian doesn't help the young Swede, nor does his own lack of maturity - but it is soon pretty clear that this kind of training atmosphere is not designed to foster any sort of team spirit. It is very much dog eat dog - failure means sale or worse. Luckily, he makes friends with "Ryan" (Alfred Enoch) who speaks English, helps him find his way, buy his first car (even if he is too young to drive) and to see a bit of the nightlife where he meets model "Vibeke" (Frida Gustavsson). His bosses take a dim view of this liaison and coupled with the alienation and pressures he is constantly subjected to, we are soon aware that his mental health is just as precarious as his physical one. This film aims fairly and squarely at an industry - and that is, I think, entertainment in general, not just soccer - that values success at all costs. People are just as much a product as if they were in a jar on a shelf. The challenges he faces are immense but so are the rewards, and those who facilitate - rather than deliver themselves, are benignly ruthless and seriously risk averse. Bengtsson was a boy in a man's world. Lonely, isolated and treated little better than a performing chimpanzee. The film itself is actually not that great. The production is quite basic and the POV style of photography did start to annoy me after a while, but the underlying messages of a desperation to thrive subsuming everything, and of an industry that cares little of any "duty of care" to those it attracts makes for a compelling, at times quite tough, film to watch.
Trailers & Clips
Recommendations
Several players from different backgrounds try to cope with the pressures of playing football at a major university. Each deals with the pressure differently, some turn to drinking, others to drugs, and some to studying.
The Program
After her brother's death, June moves to Milan for a fresh start, finding comfort in Will, the perfect honor student at her new international school. But when his troubled best friend James—hiding a dangerous life in clandestine MMA fights—sparks a rivalry that quickly turns into irresistible attraction, June must choose between safety and a love that upends everything she thought she wanted.
Love Me Love Me
Shaw Landon has loved Rule Archer from the moment she laid eyes on him. Rule, a fiery-tempered rebel tattoo artist, doesn’t have time for a good girl pre-med student like Shaw — even if she’s the only one who can see the person he truly is. She lives by other people’s rules; he makes his own. But a short skirt, too many birthday cocktails, and spilled secrets lead to a night neither can forget. Now, Shaw and Rule must figure out how a girl like her and a guy like him are supposed to be together without destroying their love…or each other.
Marked Men: Rule + Shaw
A U.S. soccer star suffers a career-threatening injury in the run-up to the World Cup, and during his recovery, embarks on an epic romance with a Russian single mom.
See You Soon
In this story-within-a-story, Anna is an actress starring opposite Mike in a period piece about the forbidden love between their respective characters, Sarah and Charles. Both actors are involved in serious relationships, but the passionate nature of the script leads to an off-camera love affair as well. While attempting to maintain their composure and professionalism, Anna and Mike struggle to come to terms with their infidelity.
The French Lieutenant's Woman
Tessa finds herself struggling with her complicated relationship with Hardin; she faces a dilemma that could change their lives forever.
After We Collided
In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn.
The Smashing Machine
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
Time Is Up
The night before their debut game, two professional soccer players share a kiss. In a sporting world where image is everything, this surprising ‘pass’ sets the men up for a contrasting decade of fame and failure, full of secrets and denial.
The Pass
Taking over Leeds United, Brian Clough's abrasive approach and his clear dislike of the players' dirty style of play make it certain there is going to be friction. Glimpses of his earlier career help explain both his hostility to previous manager Don Revie and how much he is missing right-hand man Peter Taylor.