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AJAX - Daar Hoorden Zij Engelen Zingen

(AJAX - Where They Heard The Angels Singing)



International Film Festival Amsterdam
"Ajax: Daar Hoorden Zij Engelen Zingen"
"Ajax: Where They Heard the Angels Singing"
photo courtesy RCV Film Distribution BV

An interesting film for obsessed Dutch soccer fans as well as the general population of Holland. This year celebrates (can I say that?) the centenary of the renowned soccer team Ajax (despite some recently disastrous rounds) and, unquestionably partially due to this, a film about this team has been chosen to take pride of place at the opening of the 13th International Documentary Filmfestival in Amsterdam (IDFA). Director Roel van Dalen's "tribute" to the club and its operations has moved his camera from the playing field to training sessions to recruiting abroad to locker rooms to hotel rooms to the airport and just about any other location that gets sandwiched in the life a soccer star. (The guys may not have always liked it, but they got used to it.) From among the numerous players, Christian Chivu has the most interesting scenes, especially when he begins to vent his frustrations in the locker room. The only problem with this film is that there was no exciting or decisive game that took place during the 1999-2000 season and which could have served as either centerpiece or denouement for the film. Oh, well, you can't have everything. Director van Dalen, assisted by cameraman Mark Bakker and soundman Kees de Groot, has managed to produce a visually exciting document, even if it does lack sufficient punch to make it a truly memorable experience.
International Film Festival Amsterdam
"Ajax: Daar Hoorden Zij Engelen Zingen"
"Ajax: Where They Heard the Angels Singing"
photo courtesy RCV Film Distribution BV

Painful moments abound. The crowd screams from the bleachers that trainer Jan Wouters should "get lost" (shortly before he is fired from the club). A child is confronted with the fact that, due to his wanting achievements, there is no longer a place for him in the youth group. The hopeful wannabes from Ghana stand, slave- like, half-naked on the field and are quickly and without rebuttal rejected (due to age or physicality) by the inspecting doctor. This last, especially, has awakened some strong reactions from the viewing public. Representatives of the club, since the first press screenings, have attempted to tell various interviewers that "some people may mistakenly look at this as bad treatment, but it's part of the system and done the same way everywhere in the world of soccer" even adding that "they're glad to be considered in this way." (Nevertheless, one cannot help, but remember the colonial history of the Lowlands and believe that some aspects incumbent to this period have, whether consciously or subconsciously, been retained.) Despite all this dramatic material, the end effect of the film is not as powerful as one might have hoped. Perhaps because Ajax had (another) bad year. Perhaps because the heart of a Dutchman involved in making a film, felt more passion about football than was mustered up by the team on the field during its making.

Have a look at the other IDFA 2000 reviews:

Wahlkämpfer (The Election Campaigners)
The Video Diary of Ricardo Lopez
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Os Carvoeiros (The Charcoal People)
11 and 12
Havanna, Mi Amor (Havana, My Love)

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