Directed and co-written by Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit (2019); Thor: Ragnarok (2017); Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)) and starring Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs (2015); 12 Years a Slave (2013); Prometheus (2012)), Elisabeth Moss (The French Dispatch (2021); The Seagull (2021); The Handmaid's Tale (TV series, 2017-2024)), Oscar Kightley (Moana (2016); Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)) and Kaimana (in their first film role).
Drama, 104 mins, 6+
Based on a true story about the "worst team in international football", the story starts in 2001 when American Samoa suffer a humiliating 31-0 defeat to Australia, the worst in FIFA World Cup history, then jumps ten years, by which time they have hardly improved and have remained at the foot of the FIFA world rankings.
The American Samoan Football Federation (FFAS) advertise for a new coach and end up with Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) arriving at the Pacific Island after not being able to control his anger when managing previous teams; the maverick coach only accepts the challenge after being recommended it by his former wife Gail (Elisabeth Moss) and being left with no alternative.
He is greeted by a camera crew, the cameraman Tavita (Oscar Kightley) also being the FFAS president. The new coach is thrust into a new world with different customs, attitudes and priorities. He inherits a team of players, including Jaiyah (Kaimana), with zero confidence and little ability. He has just three weeks to change the small island's football team's fortunes on the pitch, with an away game against nearby Pacific islanders, Tonga, in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying match. Tavita asks the new coach that all they want is to score just one goal.
With low aspirations, how difficult a challenge could this be? The new coach discovers that a couple of previous players, who were not actually bad and had more skills than some of the current players, were still around and he starts to try to tempt them "out of retirement" with mixed results. But the main challenge is to improve the fitness levels of the players and to get them start playing as a team.
One of the sub-plots / storylines involves the new coach's backstory about his family.
After a slow start, the storyline slowly gains momentum into what is a feel-good comedy drama, perfect for a cinematic outing one dull winter afternoon or evening.
Currently being screened in Luxembourg at Kinepolis.
