Messi (2014 film)
Messi is a 2014 documentary film directed by Álex de la Iglesia. The film explores the rise of Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, who currently plays for Catalan football club FC Barcelona.
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Directed by | Álex de la Iglesia |
Written by | Jorge Valdano |
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Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
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Argentine professional footballer |
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Production
The film focuses on Argentine footballer Lionel Messi, from his youth in Rosario to becoming one of the world's greatest players at FC Barcelona,[1] and features Jorge Valdano discussing the qualities of Messi with Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff and former Argentina manager César Luis Menotti.[2] In making the film, Iglesia said he was influenced by Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose.[3] The film was produced by Mediapro and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.[4]
Reception
After the film's premiere during the Venice Film Festival in 2014, Andrew Barker of Variety wrote that "the film is well shot and very briskly edited" and praised the choice to include figures throughout Messi's career and to not include Messi himself, but complained that they "never interact in particularly interesting ways" and also highlighted the lack of insight into his character.[5]
References
- Hopewell, John (3 March 2014). "Mediapro Advances on De la Iglesia's 'Messi'". Variety. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- "New documentary on Lionel Messi's journey to the top screened in Brazil". The Score. 3 July 2014. Archived from the original on 10 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- Macnab, Geoffrey (17 September 2014). "Lionel Messi movie: How do you accurately portray the magic of the world's greatest footballer?". The Independent. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- Hopewell, John (1 August 2014). "Film Factory Takes Alex de la Iglesia's 'Messi'". Variety. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- Barker, Andrew (27 August 2014). "Venice Film Review: 'Messi'". Variety. Retrieved 9 December 2014.