Luke Joplin

After reading the raving reviews on this board, I was expecting to see I worthy piece of film-making. Unfortunately, it's nowhere near it. In fact, it was one of the drabbest, most worthless piece of junk I've seen for a long time. The director introduces us to three close friends, and the commotion the departure of one of them causes in the other two. To celebrate their last night, they find nothing better to do than to mess with an Elvis stunt group and play foosball. And that is the whole film, believe me. First of all, it should be a film from the heart, but where is the heart? We don't see it, or feel it... We don't care about these people, because, in fact, we don't know them. The director doesn't allow our knowledge. All we know is that they are a group of white trash, wandering about Hamburg. The reason and background for their deep friendship? We aren't allowed to have a glimpse of it, neither... For a simple comparison, see Fellini's I Vitelloni. See how the master manages to introduce his characters to us, and in the end we almost become friends with them. Seeing a movie like this, I think of the hungry children in Africa... The money spent on this trash would certainly serve them well... In short: don't waste your time. Time is the most precious thing on Earth. Do you want to see some 20 minutes of foosball playing on screen? Go and play foosball for real! It's more fun, I assure you! Why the summary "End of times...". I can't help it... When such a large group of people thinks this film is a masterpiece, it must be the end of time, when pure trash is taken for great art. Shame!

The enigmatic title "Um Clássico Dois em Casa Nenhum Jogo Fora" (something like "A Classic Soccer Game - Two at home, No Game Outdoors", having in addition the soccer jargon meaning of two teams playing in their own towns) also stands for an enigmatic short film.

The film was made when a military dictatorship ruled Brazilian politics. Artists were censored, and used metaphors to bypass lack of free-speech. In this case, a soccer game is the grand metaphor representing the bond uniting the male Brazilian society, the average Brazilian guy. A teenager walks the streets in São Paulo, and finds his soul mate. It happens that his other half is the same sex. They make love and, without any oral communication, come to a conclusion that is startling, and couldn't be mentioned here without spoiling the film. The game is only heard randomly though radios on the street. Anyway, those two know for sure that they don't belong to that society. They're outsiders, they're lonely (the two at home) and, for them, there's no game outside. What makes the short so special, is the absence of explanations, or character development, and an atmosphere of impending doom. In the situation Brazil was in, no explanations were required. Either you played the major game or... One of most beautiful portraits of desperation put to celluloid, ever.