Reviews Film of the Month

Playing to the galleryTracking Zinedine Zidane exclusively for the duration of a single football match, Douglas Gordonand Philippe Parreno's artful film polishes but never penetrates its star's enigma. By Richard T. Kelly

ZidaneA 21st CenturyPortraitFrance/Iceland 2006

B ack in 1992, football writerBrian Glanville issuedPaul Gascoigne with thewarning "watch out, there's

a poet about". Glanville's wordswere inspired by the news thatIan Hamilton was penning a bookabout the tubby Geordie virtuoso,then of FC Lazio and England.This Hamilton duly relates inhis subsequent Gazza Italia, oneof the shrewdest accounts ofa clever man's love of football, andproof that Hamilton wouldn't lethighbrow credentials discount himfrom rhapsodising about a sportmore readily hymned in grunts,

chants and rude monosyllables.After all, why shouldn't 'thebeautiful game' inspire beautifuland thoughtful books? Whynot, for that matter, conceptuallyarty films?

To argue thus these days is topush on an open door, for football-derived cultural production hasboomed over the past two decades.And if the aesthetes found longwords with which to praiseGascoigne, who followed his finesthour in England's 199o World Cupby wearing plastic breasts andbelly during the post-tournamentopen-top parade, then whatlaurels are owed Zinedine Zidane,the Algerian-born Frenchmanwho owns a full set of the game'shighest honours, and whoseruggedly austere, gimlet-eyedgrace has enthralled fans bothmale and female?

Enter a cinematic collaborationbetween artists Douglas Gordon

and Philippe Parreno, in which17 cameras (film and video) aretrained on Zidane for the durationof Real Madrid's fairly importantleague match with Villareal inApril 2005. (The film furnishesno context of this type or any other,but Real were chasing Barcelona forSpain's La Liga title.) Not renownedas the chattiest of men, Zidane hadnevertheless met with the directorsand endorsed their project.Gordon is perhaps best knownfor 24-HourlPsycho, in which heprojected Hitchcock's movie attwo frames per second: clearly thisis an artist intrigued by time-basedmedia, and the degree to whichimages can be scrutinised morefruitfully outside of the whole.One wouldn!t then expect a Gordon'documentary' to be stuffed witharchive footage or talking heads."We thought we could use ideasfrom the art world," Gordon toldthe Guardian of his and Parreno's

intentions, "and combine themwith popular culture."

Currently our pop culture offersfew pastimes more commonplacethan watching football on bigscreens. (Indeed, Sky TV'smonopolistic coverage of live UKfootball has for some time givendigital viewers the option offocusing on a sole player.) Zidane,though, announces itself withinseconds as an artwork- in thegraphic design of its titles, and bya zoom into an abstracted extremeclose-up of a television screenshowing the match. Gradually,Zidane himself is centred on thescreen within the screen, albeit asa blurred figure on a green carpet.The score - modal drones andmeandering guitars by Mogwai- gets into gear, and then we'reoff, transported into Gordon's andParreno's multi-camera footage.

Sportswriter Richard Williamshas properly placed Zidane among

42/10 WbSouW

a football elite of "artists andinventors, men who see space andtime and angles where we see onlyconfusion". The frame Gordon andParreno have placed around Zidaneassumes - or perhaps devoutlywishes - that nothing he does canbe without interest. Indeed, theygenerate some terrific images,which at times are arbitrary.(The Bernabeu crowd seen behinda stationary Zidane in mid-shot arekind enough now and then to riseand clap in synchronicity, or bangon bass drums.) There is also adegree of arty frippery- pointlessframes-within-frames grabbed froma monitor or viewfinder. But aboveall there is the ball, and the man.

By design, Gordon and Parrenohave not incurred the duty of anenlightened reading of the gameor Zidane's contributions, howhe arrives at them, why they workor don't work- the sort of thingex-pro television summarisersget paid for as they doodle overhalf-time replays with light-pens.(Indeed, posterity will best judgethe worth of how Gordon andParreno choose to pass the half-time interval: namely with an on-this-day-in-history globetrot fromNajaf to Jakarta, taking in a fewfancy-that quirks about explodingtoads and woodpeckers, plus a spotof domestic from Gordon: "My sonhad a fever this morning.")

What is absorbing, though, is towatch Zidane's own watchfulness,his studious tracking of the ball and

The frame

assumes -

or perhapsdevoutlywishes -that nothinghe does canbe withoutinterest

MAN OF THE MATCHFormer France and Real Madridstar Zinedine Zidane is the focusof 17 cameras, 80,000 fans and onecard-waving ref. The film was rushedinto UK cinemas after his dramaticlast bow in the World Cup final

the opposition's movements.Longer lenses exaggerate hisisolation on the field, but then hisadmirers have long known himfor one who can drift in and outof play, and it is in the nature of theattacking midfielder or 'playmaker'to claim moments of stillness.Come the second half, however,with Real a goal down, Zidaneraises his tempo. Flushed, sweatdarkening his monkish tonsure andcoursing down his nose, he startsto exhibit some of his repertoire:a lightning step-over, a foot on theball, a dribble to the by-line withmultiple feints culminating ina left-foot cross headed home by

Daiin'4r�H emil rn,U-�E �E � �U �EE �E �

It wasn't just a caseof us leaving the whitecube to go into theblack box; we werealso trying to pulla few people fromthe black box intothe white cube. Therewere many, manytense moments duringthe production, butone in particular waswhen the camera crewactually started toarrive in Madrid beforethe match. Everyonewas asking fora storyboard, becauseobviously that'sthe traditional waythat film people do

team-mate Ronaldo. In suchsplendid moments we feel intimatewith Zidane's peerless control, hismaking and holding of space, theadhesion of ball to feet. The film'swider-angled, fuller-body imagesundoubtedly offer the best vantagewith these sequences, much asthey best showcase dancers inmovie musicals.

But the film-makers have otherthings they wish to convey: mostevidently, a sense of Zidane'sintrospection, telegraphed inclose-ups where the soundtrack isheavy with his breathing and in theuse of subtitles drawn from theirdialogues with the player. (Duringthe first half, with Zidane's mildfrustration apparent, we even geta gesture towards his point of view.)Some of these musings, to do withtime and memory, are the stuff ofgallery pamphlets and don't reallybear the repeated airings they

Goya paintings andsaid, "OK, so what arethe camera angleshere?" Of course,they're not cameraangles, but the cameracrew just tuned intothe cinematic aspectsof the portraitsright away, and wemanaged to find somecommon ground. Iremember vividly howabsolutely astonishedMartin Scorsese'scameraman was tobe standing in frontof a Goya for the firsttime in his life; thewhole project wasworth it just for that.

receive. More diverting are Zidane'sthoughts on the hand of fate - asense of knowing he would scorebefore the ball came to him, ofarriving at the stadium certainthat the cause was lost, "the scriptwritten before the game". (Fansknow this feeling, too.)

As the match nears stoppagetime, the Mogwai music becomesa mounting drone and we watchZidane first wince at and then wadeinto a fracas of players, the spark forwhich is unknown to us, and off hetrots for an early bath. Zidane wasfamously touchy, sent off 14 timesin his career, the short fuse andthe inner demon integral plotpoints in his legend. One speaksin the past tense because the finaldismissal came in his last game asa professional, the 2oo6 World Cupfinal, after his butting of a snideItalian defender who bad-mouthedhis mother and sister. Zidane'sbackstory - the staunch son ofBerber Algerian immigrants, raisedon a Marseilles estate, who grewup to glorify his adoptive nationonly then to get saddled with theimpossible role-model burden ofembodying a cancellation of Frenchracial tensions (and, probably, toresent as much) - is surely a clue tohis bouts of fury, to this and a goodfew other sendings-off. But it wouldbe the grist of a different movie.To be fair, as football pundits say,the mystique of Zidane probablydeserves a film as elusive andtaciturn as Gordon's and Parreno's,one that polishes his enigma ratherthan penetrates it, now that he hastrudged from the pitch and intothe pantheon for keeps.

Zidane arrives in cinemassimultaneously with therediscovery at festivals of an earlierand very similar work, Football AsNever Before by the German directorHellmuth Costard, in which eight16mm cameras track George Bestthrough 9o minutes at Old Traffordin late I97o as Manchester Unitedbeat Coventry 2-o. It's a nothinggame, and Best was already bentupon drowning his gifts in whitewine. But like Zidane, the film isa time-and-motion study, whereinthe audience learns nothingabout team formation but rather- through the fabled integrityof long lens and long take - isurged to appreciate individualmastery. Best and Zidane repayour attention, instructing us inwhat becomes a legend most.By contrast, at odd moments inZidane the fretful highlighted headof David Beckham - once upona time vaunted by certain hacksas an 'icon of masculinity'- fleetsacross the frame and is gone.For full credits and synopsis seepage 84

00*LMW 43 10

placed round The directors reveal how Goyafigured in their pre-match tactics

Zidane

things, but we said,"Look, we can't doone because it's a liveevent:' Neverthelesswe had to give themsomething, so wecame up with thisidea that we'd takethe camera crew tothe Prado. We endedup walking the crewthrough the historyof Spanish portraiture,and it was reallyinteresting that thesecameramen, whohadn't even seen someof these paintingsbefore, just seemedto get it. We stood infront of a couple of

Reviews Films

You, Meand DupreeGermany/USA 2006Directors: Anthony Russo,Joe RussoWith Owen Wilson, Kate Hudson,Matt Dillon, Seth RogenCertificate 12A 109m 27s

T he grown man whose enduringboyishness puts him at odds

with the demands of adultsociety is an obsession of

current US comedy. Performers suchas Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Ben Stiller,Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilsonrepeatedly portray arrested manchildren, whose irresponsibility ispitted against the pragmatism andconventionality of female partnersand male authority figures. In You, Meand Dupree, the unfettered male id isembodied by Wilson's spacey, free-spirited Dupree, who crash-landsa light aircraft en route to performbest-man functions for his friend Carl(Matt Dillon), and then proceeds todrive a wedge between Carl and hisbride, Molly (Kate Hudson), by givingvent to all of the impulses Carl mustnow suppress. Dillon has playeda strikingly similar role before, inEmployee of the Month (2004), in whichthe agent provocateuris a near psychoticSteve Zahn; the set-up also recallsDominik Moll's Harry, He's Here to Help.

Like its boyish anti-hero, however,You, Me and Dupree tends to close itseyes to the darker consequences ofemotional repression and domesticdisharmony. It simply deploysthe titular three-way relationship asthe context for a rather mild negotiationbetween Dupree's childlike spontaneityand Molly's stifling conservatism - orbetween male and female needs, asthe film conceives them. Carl's friendNeil (Seth Rogen) provides a cautionaryexample of just what can happento a man if he allows his wifethe dominance she seeks over hislife. Neil's wife (who's never grantedthe dignity of an onscreen appearance)keeps him to a curfew, and makeshis decisions for him. "She makesthe rules," Neil ruefully observes. "Shecontrols what I do." At the wedding,Dupree consigns Carl to a similar fate:"Guess this is where the road endsfor you and me. We had a good run,though, didn't we?" Meanwhile, Molly'smonstrous father, Mr Thompson(Michael Douglas), extends herdestructive influence by trying topersuade his son-in-law to take Molly'sname, and to avoid tainting the familygene pool by impregnating her.

In one scene, which mirrors a nearidentical sequence in the similarly-themed The Break- Up, Molly returnshome and is enraged to find unruly mensprawled over her living room watchingsports. Actress Kate Hudson has notedthat the scene rankled with her: "I'vealways been the kind of woman whoputs football parties together." Sadly, itwould blow this film's whole agendato acknowledge the existence of suchwomen. SO Hannah McGill

The marriage crasher: Owen Wilson

CREDITSDirected byAnthony RussoJoe RussoProduced byScott StuberMary ParentOwen WilsonWritten byMichael Le SieurDirector ofPhotographyCharles MinskyEditorsPeter B. EllisDebra Nel-FisherProduction DesignerBarry RobisonMusicTheodore Shapiro

OMMCB FilmProduktion 2004GmbH& CoKG/Universal StudiosProductionCompaniesUniversal Picturespresents a StuberParent/Avis Davisproduction inassociation with MMCB

Film Produktion 2004GmbH &Co. KGA Russo Brothers'pictureExecutive ProducersMichael FottrellSean PerroneAaron KaplanUnit ProductionManagerMichael FontrellProductionSupervisorsCatherine S. McCombHawaii:Renee ContairProductionAccountantDonna Glasser HancockLocation ManagersCurtis CollinsHawaiiStephanie SpanglerPost-productionSupervisorJason Leib2nd Unit DirectorAdam DavidsonAssistant DirectorsIst: Bob Roe2n: Michael Helfand2r Unit1st Michael Helfand

E SYNOPSIS LA, the present. Mollyand Carl Petersen return from theirlavish Hawaii wedding, paid for byMolly's construction boss father,Mr Thompson, for whom Carlworks. The couple reluctantlyoffer temporary bed and boardto Carl's flamboyant best man,Dupree, who has lost his job, carand apartment. Dupree provesto be an intrusive and troublesomepresence, but the Petersens continueto take pity on him.

At work, Mr Thompson bulliesand emasculates Carl, finally givingCarl's most cherished project toa rival. Molly and Carl's relationshipsuffers, and Molly forms a close bondwith Dupree. Mr Thompson comesto dinner; when he too appearsto favour Dupree, Carl snaps, andviolently attacks Dupree beforedeparting into the night. The nextday, Dupree tracks Carl down, andpersuades him to reconcile withMolly and confront Mr Thompson.A flash-forward shows Carl stillworking for Mr Thompson, buton his own terms; and Dupreegiving a motivational speech tothe company's employees.

Script SupervisorsAdrienne Harnalian2nd UnitMary WilsonCastingDeborah AquilaTricia Wood2nd Unit Directorof PhotographyIgor MeglicCamera OperatorsA: P Scott SakamotoB David L. DianoChief LightingTechnicianJeff Murrell2nd Unit GafferElan YaariVisual EffectsSupervisorThad BeierVisual EffectsCIS HollywoodSpecial Visual EffectsSyd DuttonBill TaylorIllusior Arts, Inc.Special EffectsCo-ordinatorRon BolanowskiAdditional EditorSean ThompsonSupervising ArtDirectorKevin ConstantArt DirectorPaul SonskiSet DesignersJoshua LusbyRon MendellHugo SantiagoDeanWolcottJason SweersSet DecoratorBarbara MunchProperty MasterTommy TominsonConstructionCo-ordinatorThomas B. DiValerioCostume DesignerKaren PatchCostume SupervisorCharlene AmateauMake-up DepartmentHeadKimberly GreeneKey Make-up ArtistDenise Della ValleHair Department HeadMedusahKey HairstylistVickie MynesMain/EndTitlesPacific TitleOpticalsEilmOrchestrationTony BindalMusic SupervisorRandall PosterSoundtrack"All Cause ofsYou" The88; "Back of My Hand"- Jags: "Happiness' -Pizzaman "He Can'tLove You" - The MichaelStanleyBand CutYburHair" - Pavement,"BuccaneerWoodpecker' Cue:"Sailcr's Horr Pipe' byClarence Wheeler: "Gotto Be Some ChangesMade" -The StapleSingers: FunkyColdMedina" Tone LrcL"Smooth Operator"-Sade: "Mandy BarryMandow* "Train in Vain(Stand by Me)" - TheClash "Roman HolidayCues' byGeorges Auric:"Spanish Stroll -MinkDeVile' "SpanishMoon" Little Feat"Flute Dream"AndrevwSilverý"Love RemovalMachine" - The Cult,"Crickets Sing for AnnaMaria" - Marcos Valle"Fix You" - Coldlay,"Bust a Move" - YoungMC; "Three Is a MagicNumberr" - Bind Melon"Intothe Woods'

from Happy Campersby Rolfe Robin KentProductionSound MixerPetur Hliddal2nd Unit Sound MixerChuck FitzpatrickSound Re-recordingMixersPeter Reale

Gregg LandakerSupervisingSound EditorSteven D. WilliamsStunt Co-ordinatorJimmy Robers

CASTOwen WilsonRandolph DupreeKate HudsonMolly PetersenMatt DillonCarl PetersenSeth RogenNeilAmanda DetmerAnnieTodd StashwickRodMichael DouglasMrTThompsonRalph TingToshBill HaderMarkLance ArmstronghimselfJason WinerEddieSidney LiufauPacoBilly Gardellbartender DaveEli VargasAaronHouston McCrillisDougieBob Larkinarmy veteranSuzanne FordMargaretFenessa PinedaTceraTasha Smithco-workerJohn Rubyspin instructorClaudia ChoiParSummer AlticeJeanine Hassbloile womenPeter Ruoccowedding peannerLance Irwinboy's fatherMario Quinonez Jrlittle Dupree/2nd graderJay LembeckministerGil HarrisReesePat Crawford BrownAunt KathyBayani IsonHawaiian bartenderJoe WilsonUncle JoeHoward LefsteinDupree body doubleBlaine PateKevin BreznahanTrevor StockSean Perroneparty guests

Dolby Digital/DTS/SDDSColour byDeLuxe

DistributorUnited InternationalPictures (UK) Ltd

9,851 ff +2 frames

German theatrical titleich, Du und der Andere

ZidaneA 2bt CenturyPortraitFrance/Iceland 2006Directors: Douglas Gordon,Philippe Parreno

Zidane A 2 nSt Century Portrait is our Filmof the Month and is reviewed on page 42

CREDITSA film byDouglas GordonPhilippe ParreroProduced bySgurjon SighvatssonAnna VaneyVictonien VaneyDirector of PhotographyDarius KhordliEditorHerv6 SchneidOriginal Music/Performed byMogwai

@Anna Lena Films/NafIastrengir/LoveStreams Productions/Arte France CinemaProduction CompaniesPalomar Pictures andAnna Lena Films presentan Anna Lena Films and

Naflastrengir co-produchor with ArteFrance Cinema LoveStreams Productions,agncs b, with theparticipation of Canal+,Cicin6ma with thesupport of CNAP-Image/Mouvement andthe participation ofCentre national de lacin6matographie

Associate ProducerFondazione SandrettoRe RebaudergoA film by Douglas Gordonand Philippe ParrenoIn co operation with RealMadrid Club de Futbol,ELTV, Audiovisual SportWith the support ofProgramme MEDIA Plusde la CommissionEurop6ennen GCerieYvon Lambert, Fondation

uma, MUSAC Museo

de Ante Contemporaneode Castilla y LeonGagosian Gallery,Friedrich Petool EstherSchippen Air de ParisProduction ManagersMadrid CrewCritina EcitsFrance:Victorien VaneyUnit ProductionManagerFrance:Didier AbotProduction Co-ordinatorMadrid CrewCarmen Ruiz deHuidobroLocation ManagerMadrid Crew:Mercedes Barbod

Post-productionSupervisorsLionel KoppAntoine RabateAssistant DirectorsMadrid CrewIst Pedro Sopena2nd Ivan SmithCamera OperatorsBertoChas BairFric BialasJohanne DebasJim dos SantosDavid DunlapStuart HowellJoaquin MachadoDonald MarxMichael McDonough

Giulio PietromarchiSgfrnedJorge SimonetPhilip SindallGary SpratlingDes WhelanTim WoosterDigital Visual EffectsDuranDuboicolorTitlesM/M (Paris)OpticalsDuran

Sound RecordingScott Guitteau

Clement CartallasErwan KerzanetRaphael KalfonRe-recording MixersTom JohnsonVincent CossorSound MixersDamien JazzerniGuillaume Leriche

SupervisingSound EditorSelim Azzazi

WITHZinddine Zidanehimself

Antonio EstevaCelia RamirezAlfonso VillarSpanish commentaryPierre CangioniFrench commentary

Dolby DigitalIn ColourSubtitles

DistributorArttfic4a Eye HimCompany

French theatrical titleZidane Un portrait du216me sibcle

I SYNOPSIS A football matchbetween Spanish sides Real Madridand Villareal kicks off and amultitude of cameras find andfollow exclusively Real's numberfive, Zin6dmne Zidlane. Villareal goahead. In the second half Zidanecreates an equaliser. AVitlarealplayer is sent off. Real take the lead.With the final whistle impending,there is a tyle amonig the playersand Zidane intervenes aggressively.He and another Villareal player aresent off,

84/10 SIIIIISOund

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

TITLE: Playing to the gallerySOURCE: Sight & Sound ns16 no10 O 2006PAGE(S): 42-3, 84

WN: 0627400691018

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Copyright 1982-2006 The H.W. Wilson Company. All rights reserved.