An Argentine film about soccer is about as surprising as a Hollywood flick about a comic book superhero. And if for some odd reason you needed proof that Rio Platenses are a little loony when it comes to their devotion to the sport, there’s the anecdote about an amateur soccer captain murdered on the field by fans of his rival team just a few days ago.
While such actions are more than lamentable, in general our Gaucho cousins from down south maintain a healthy passion for the beautiful game that has rightfully put them on the map as one of the sport’s global epicenters. But beyond the country’s numerous world cups and glamorous international superstars, there are the hordes of hardscrabble weekend warriors who represent their neighborhoods and small towns in the Argentine soccer equivalent of AAA baseball.
Yet for these local heroes the fleeting moments of glory don’t come with endorsement deals and fat FIFA bonus checks — so what happens when the knees start to go and the falls actually start to hurt? In his latest feature, El 5 de Talleres (El Cinco) Argentine-Uruguayan director Adrián Biniez (Gigante) decided to take a look at the life of an aging, small-time soccer star faced with the impending end of his career and the difficult life decisions he must make as he confronts a future he had never bothered to contemplate.
Soccer fans and argentinophiles alike should be running to the theaters (or preferred torrent sites) for this one, director Biniez is a master at finding subtle emotions in understated moments, and the trailer suggests a tender but humorous look at a simple man facing an uncertain future… and who can’t identify with that, boludo?
