24/05/2006

Unveiled to festival participants yesterday out of competition, and released today on 300 French screens by UIP, Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait is a challenging piece of filmmaking by visual artists Philippe Parreno, a French Algerian born in Oran, and the Glaswegian born Douglas Gordon.

The goal: filming the iconic soccer player Zinedine Zidane in real time during the entire length of a soccer game. The pitch, as presented by the filmmakers to Icelandic-born Hollywood player Sugurjon Sighvatsson and French co-producers Anna and Victorien Vaney, was to film not the game with Zidane as a member of the Real Madrid dream team, but only the legend in the making as an artist at work and whose work happens to be soccer.

Seventeen synchronised cameras, all focused on Zidane, were placed around the stadium. The effect obtained with extreme close-ups allows audiences to see the man’s every gesture in minute detail, and his impenetrable face, over and over again. Yet it totally isolates him from the rest of his team. Some wide angle shots hint at what the “normal” game looks like and Zidane’s true skills, and images of the outside world during half-time give a trace of what else was happening beyond the game.

For those expecting a good soccer game, this film is a miss. For those expecting to know more about the man and his passion for soccer, it’s almost a near miss. Almost, because subtitles of Zidane’s words do reveal his feelings when on the field. For those expecting to live a match from within Zidane’s own body and soul, it’s also a miss as you rarely feel anything. But for those ready to embrace a totally different cinematic experience and absorb it as a non-linear film using soccer only as a pretext, it is a hit.

The film was co-produced by Anna Lena Films in France with Naflastrengir Production in Iceland, as well as Arte France Cinéma and Love Streams Production Agnes B. International sales are being handled by Katapult Film Sales.