Filmmaker Eryk Rocha's documentary centers on an amateur soccer championship played in Rio de Janeiro's rundown Sampaio neighborhood shortly before the 2014 World Cup. The annual 14-team tournament culminates here in a final match between teams Geração (from the Matriz favela) and Juventude (from the Sampaio favela). Rocha eschews ESPN-style sports coverage in favor of a more artistic angle that highlights both the emotionalism and the physicality of the players, an approach that can be exhilarating as it captures the human highlights of the event—especially when the Lord's Prayer is recited by players prior to the game. At other times, however, the style feels like Film School 101, serving up pointless slow-motion cinematography backed by a bewildering mix of classical music by Puccini and Wagner and more up-tempo Brazilian compositions. Nonetheless, Sunday Ball presents a mostly entertaining look at low-income Brazilians enjoying the sport for the sheer love of the game—without any expectation of commercial endorsements or glitzy stadium presentations. The expensive venues built for Rio's hosting of the World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics are now mostly empty, but neighborhood games continue to happily thrive, to the cheers of favela residents rooting for their local teams. Recommended. (P. Hall)
Sunday Ball
Cinema Slate, 70 min., in Portuguese w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $24.95 Volume 32, Issue 1
Sunday Ball
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: