La sainte équipe

I really enjoyed this film. Great actors, good comedy, original script and beautiful atmosphere. Some scenes seamed to come out of a Caravaggio's painting. Loved it.

I'm an atheist who don't even like football and what did it for me was the religious references in the jokes.

Also, the nice portrayal and development of the characters. Yeah, you could see the ending from the start, but it was still moving.

The acting and production is good enough, but the film is let down by an incredibly derivative, formulaic script. There's not an original idea in the whole movie. Trope after trope after trope.

Very fun and bewildering Spanish movie with a lot of amusement and entertainment. It deals with a Monks school or Seminary where new priests learn their works. As monks are living at a small rural monastery where manufacture tasty muffin, and a sort of tea cookie called Perrunilla , however, the Bishop : Chato Valverde, wants to transform it into a National Parador due to lack of Church funds. Then, a newcomer priest, Alain Hernandez, convinces the Superior Father, Karra Elejalde, the only chance to avoid it is playing the Finalissima, league 2016-2027, the 23 Champion Clerum tournament to compete in the Vaticanum.

This attractive story contains soccer sports, emotion, tension, excitement galore, entertainment and lots of fun. Along the way an enjoyable love story takes place between an ingenuous novice, Joe Bosqued, and the beautiful paramedic Macarena Garcia. Following the hard preparatives of a diverse team formed by naive priests preparing a competing soccer match, tournament held in Italy, being played each year, and while a friendly monk , Alain Hernandez, teaching them, as this priest is assigned the difficult mission to train the bungling novices . The most part of the film concerns in the elaborate process to train them, including a great number of laughters , confusion and mayhem. Some situations are laugh out loud ridiculous and the story proceeds at a breakneck speed that flags, at times. The sympathetic roles and vibrant script use bewildering incidents to give us a charming flick and that keeps you entertained for the almost 100 minutes of duration. Main and support actors give terrific interpretations. Special mention for the veteran and well-known actor Karra Elejalde, as the stiff-upper-lip Father, he has a proliific career from the 80s playing all kinds of roles such as 8 apellidos Vascos, 8 apellidos Catalanes, Marujas asesinas, Accion mutante, 100 metros, A Esmorga, Chicken skin, Corsarios del chip, Numbered days, Earth, Salto al vacio, Visionaires, Alas de Mariposa, Cows, Miel de naranjas, Time crimes, Madre muerta, Even the rain, Los ultimos de Filipinas . Furthermore, standing out El Langui, a handicapped actor and Hip-Hop singer who at the movie final sings a catching Rap. At the moving and stirring ending a football match is set up so that the players execute a great effort to play it and to get their aims at whatever means.

It contains a wonderful and evocative musical score by Fernando Velazquez who had got musical hits in films as Orphanage, The impossible, A monster calls, The invisible guest, Deep, Guernica, among others. As well as a colorful and brilliant cinematography by Unax Mendia. The motion picture was well directed by Curro Velazquez. He is a notorious writer as TV as cinema with successes as Hombres de Paco, Chringuito de Pepe, Periodistas and Fuga de cerebros I and II or Brain drain. Rating 7/10, above average. Fun for the whole family.

I saw the bad reviews and had low expectations, but this was a fun and hilarious movie. I've also never seen a movie that takes place in a monastery and I like that it made the monks seem like real people. I just wish it had had English audio!