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thetruecosy
Reviews
Ultras (2020)
Ultras without Football
The TL:DR: A film about football culture without football. Three points for showing the lives of working class people in Napoli and trying to be Ken Loach.
Long version: Even if you aren't part of the Ultras/Hooligan/Casula culture you probably have some images in your head associated with it. Now I'm not saying a filmmaker has to show reality, but if your movie is portraying a certain way of life and even claims it in the title, maybe you should make it as real as possible. With football this clearly is a budget/rights/access issue, with Ultras it even becomes political. Football clubs have a love/hate (often mir on the hate side) relationship with "active" fans. And the fans are very picky themselves, when it comes to their portrayal in media.
That's maybe why "classic" football violence and politics have been left out of this movie.
One could argue: This is just a movie for everyone, Ultras culture is just a background setting, but at the same time people it will have difficulties reading a lot of scenes without a certain knowledge of the codes and rules of said culture.
What's left is the portrayal of a slice of Neapolitan society that - I guess - tries to show the everyday grind of people and how their true god is football.
Without really showing this god. Or without accomplishing to show why this has become a facade, a ritual without meaning.
On a more structural level it is hard to sympathise with the people in Ultras. They lack dimension and motivation. I understand the time constraints of movies make this hard, but I can't shake the feeling the director feels to be part of the Ultras scene, but has a rather narrow view on the people in it. Not really condescending, but kind of how some parents can't shake of certain views they have of their child, failing to see the what their children really are capable of.
Full disclosure: I stopped watching after about an hour, because the movie just didn't come together for me at this point. I might come back and update my review, but I doubt it.
The Conners (2018)
What a positive surprise!
As many I was unsure about the whole "Roseanne without Roseanne" situation.
All I can say: If you grew up with the original series, this is such a good spin off (for a lack of a better word).
Anyone saying "This ain't the same without Roseanne", is right about the obvious, but wrong about the not so obvious.
Roseanne was a strong character, but the old series wasn't just her and The Conners gives those other characters room to breath while keeping the vibe I loved
about the old show.
I have missed the mix of pun jokes, goofy acting and tearjerking drama elements.
While the political views presented in the series are often reduced to known codes and lack deeper reflection of the given topic, it couldn't be any other way considering this still is a sitcom.
And considering the times we live in, it's outstanding that a sitcom takes a stand for common decency and against hate, bigotry and the cliché, that working class people only care for themselves and their piece of the pie.
I want this series to continue and I really hope the ratings are holding up: I finally have my TV family back and I don't want to loose it again.