International Film Festival Amsterdam
"Ajax: Daar Hoorden Zij Engelen Zingen"
"Ajax: Where They Heard the Angels Singing"
photo courtesy RCV Film Distribution BV
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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.
© 1994-2006 The Green Hartnett
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