Next Goal Wins (2014 film)

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Next Goal Wins
The poster for the film Next Goal Wins.jpg
British poster for Next Goal Wins
Directed byMike Brett
Steve Jamison
Produced byKristian Brodie
Starring Thomas Rongen
Jaiyah Saelua
Nicky Salapu
CinematographyMike Brett and Steve Jamison
Edited byJulian Quantrill [1]
Music byRoger Goula
Production
companies
Archer's Mark
Agile Films
K5 International
Distributed by Icon Film Distribution [2] [3]
Release dates
  • 19 April 2014 (2014-04-19)(Tribeca)
  • 9 May 2014 (2014-05-09)(UK)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguagesEnglish
Samoan

Next Goal Wins is a 2014 British documentary film directed by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison. The film chronicles the national football team of American Samoa as they try to recover from the indignity of being known as one of the weakest football teams in the world, and to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Contents

Synopsis

In 2001, American Samoa lost 31–0 to Australia, the worst loss in international football history, and have been dogged by defeat ever since. They want to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but continue to lose on the pitch. To help turn their luck around, the Football Federation American Samoa hire Dutch-born, America-based coach Thomas Rongen. [4]

Over the next three weeks, Rongen trains the team, and introduces some players based overseas, until they can acquit themselves with pride at the qualifiers at the OFC World Cup Qualification.

Jaiyah Saelua, a member of the squad since 2003, is a faʻafafine and is the first transgender player to compete in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. [5] [6]

Production

The American Samoa football team had refused permission to numerous film and TV crews before being approached by Brett and Jamison, the directors were given permission to film the team because they aimed to celebrate the fact that the team continued to play in the face of their defeats. The film was shot on 5k resolution using a RED Epic camera over two visits to the island of six and eight weeks respectively. [7]

Release

The film had its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on 19 April 2014. [8] It was released in the United Kingdom on 9 May. [4]

Critical response

Next Goal Wins received overwhelmingly positive reviews from both critics and audiences. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 100% approval rating based on 30 reviews, with a rating average of 7.6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Finding beauty in sports beyond the mere satisfaction on winning, Next Goal Wins is a moving documentary filled with a lovable array of underdogs". [9] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 71 out of 100, based on reviews by 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [10]

In the UK, the film was admired by those who loved football and those who did not. Representing the latter, Mark Kermode reviewed the film twice. In The Observer he gave Next Goal Wins four stars out of five and wrote that "whether or not you give two hoots about "the beautiful game" (and I don't), this charming and uplifting documentary will have you cheering for the underdogs and wishing that all footballers were this humble, determined and just plain decent." [11] While on his film review programme with Simon Mayo on BBC Radio 5 Live he admitted that the film made him both cry and punch the air. [12] In the New Statesman , Arsenal fan Mark Lawson called Next Goal Wins, "one of the best films about football", [13] because it will appeal to football fans and the football indifferent alike.

Across the rest of the world the coverage was also positive. In The New York Times Anita Gates called the film "splendid celebration-of-humanity documentary" comparing its best moments to an Edith Wharton novel. [14] A number of reviewers remarked that interest in soccer or even sport was not necessary to enjoy the film. [15] [16] Despite their largely positive reviews, Liam Lacey in The Globe and Mail noted that the film was predictable [17] and in the Los Angeles Times Sheri Linden wrote that there is nothing exceptional about the film cinematically. [16]

Awards

Next Goal Wins won the Special Jury Award as part of the Documentary Film Competition at the 2014 Abu Dhabi Film Festival and was also nominated for a Black Pearl Award for Best Documentary Feature at the same festival. The same year it won the Best Documentary award at the British Independent Film Awards. In 2015 the film was nominated for Documentary of the Year at the London Critics Circle Film Awards 2015.

Feature film adaptation

In August 2019, Variety reported that director Taika Waititi would oversee a feature film adaption of Next Goal Wins for The Walt Disney Company under their Searchlight Pictures banner. Waititi co-wrote the script with Iain Morris. Garrett Basch, Jonathan Cavendish, Andy Serkis, Mike Brett, and Steve Jamison served as producers. The production was a joint venture between Searchlight Pictures and The Imaginarium. Principal photography began in late 2019. Michael Fassbender was announced to star in the film adaption in the role of Thomas Rongen. [18] The film was released on November 17, 2023. [19]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Samoa national football team</span> National association football team

The American Samoa men's national football team represents American Samoa in men's international association football and is controlled by the Football Federation American Samoa, the governing body of the sport in the territory. American Samoa's home ground is the Pago Park Soccer Stadium in Pago Pago and their head coach is Tunoa Lui.

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Thomas Eddy Rongen is a Dutch-American football coach who has spent the majority of his playing and coaching career in the United States. In December 2016, he was named Chief Scout of the United States men's national soccer team. Rongen won the MLS Coach of the Year award in MLS's inaugural season in 1996, leading the Tampa Bay Mutiny to the best regular-season record. His stint managing the American Samoa national team was covered in the 2014 documentary Next Goal Wins, and the 2023 biographical comedy-drama also called Next Goal Wins.

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The sport of football in American Samoa is governed by the Football Federation American Samoa (FFAS), the nations football association. It was founded in 1984, and affiliated to FIFA and to the OFC in 1998. It organizes the FFAS Senior League, the FFAS Women's National League, the men's national team and the women's national team.

On 11 April, 2001, the Australian and American Samoan national association football teams played each other in an Oceanian qualifying match for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The match was played at the International Sports Stadium in Coffs Harbour, Australia. Australia set a world record for the largest victory in an international football match, winning the game 31–0. Australia's Archie Thompson also broke the record for most goals scored by a player in an international match by scoring 13 goals. David Zdrilic, the scorer of eight goals in the match, scored the second-highest number of goals in an international match since World War I.

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Next Goal Wins is a 2023 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Taika Waititi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Iain Morris. It is based on the 2014 documentary of the same name by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison about Dutch-American coach Thomas Rongen's efforts to lead the American Samoa national football team, considered one of the weakest football teams in the world, to qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The film stars Michael Fassbender as Rongen, alongside Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, David Fane, Rachel House, Beulah Koale, Will Arnett, and Elisabeth Moss.

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References

  1. Next Goal Wins - British Films Directory film.britishcouncil.org
  2. McNary, Dave (6 February 2014) "Berlin: Soccer Documentary ‘Next Goal Wins’ Gets U.S. Distribution" Variety.com
  3. "Next Goal Wins (2014)" BBFC
  4. 1 2 Kev Geoghegan (6 May 2014). "Next Goal Wins for 'world's worst football team'". BBC News . Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  5. "VIDEO: "Next Goal Wins" trailer details 'worst team in the world'". NBC Sports Radio . 20 February 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2014.
  6. "Hollywood treatment for American Samoa". FIFA World. 13 March 2013. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  7. Mitchell, Wendy (3 February 2014) "Making Next Goal Wins" Screen International
  8. "Next Goal Wins". Tribeca Film Institute . Archived from the original on 6 May 2014. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  9. Next Goal Wins Rotten Tomatoes
  10. Next Goal Wins (2014). Metacritic
  11. Next Goal Wins review – uplifting documentary about world's worst football team
  12. (9 May 2014) Mark Kermode reviews Next Goal Wins Kermode and Mayo's Film Review. BBC Radio 5 Live.
  13. Lawson, Mark (29 MAY 2014) Next Goal Wins: for once, a football film people might actually watch New Statesman
  14. Gates, Anita (April 23, 2014) A Badly Bruised Soccer Team Tries to Beat a Reputation The New York Times
  15. Gant, Charles (May 5, 2014) Film Review: ‘Next Goal Wins’ Variety.com
  16. 1 2 Linden, Sheri (April 24, 2014) Review: 'Next Goal Wins' turns losing soccer team into champs latimes.com
  17. Lacey, Liam (July 11, 2014) Next Goal Wins: Predictable, but shamelessly heart-warming theglobeandmail.com
  18. Kroll, Justin (13 September 2019). "Michael Fassbender to Star in Taika Waititi's 'Next Goal Wins'". Variety. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  19. McClintock, Pamela (12 April 2023). "Taika Waititi's 'Next Goal Wins' Kicks Box Office Release to November 2023". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 12 April 2023.