Neymar: El caos perfecto

"Neymar: The Perfect Chaos" (2022 release; 3 episodes totaling 165 min.) is a documentary about Brazilian footballer Neymar. As Episode 1 opens, Neymar is asked how he would like to open the documentary and Neymar suggests "random quotes", which we then promptly are served, mostly talking heads who are quick to judge Neymar the person, with one of them saying that "Neymar seems to enjoy the perfect chaos". We then go to "Paris 2017" when Neymar shocks the football world by forcing a transfer away from Barcelona and going to Paris Saint Germain for a world record transfer fee

Couple of comments: this documentary mini-series is directed by David Charles Rodrigues, who I admit I had never heard of before. More importantly, the series is produced by Lebron James (whose jersey Neymar wears at times in the documentary, along with Kobe Bryant's). Let's be clear: Neymar is a fantastic footballer. But is this a good documentary? The series was made with the full cooperation of Neymar and his family, providing tons of never before seen footage (often from Neymar's cell phone). It is clear that the Neymar family and organization has one objective in mind more than anything else: to protect and preserve the Neymar brand. On a number of occasions, we hear Neymar Sr. (his dad, who also is his manager) explain to the NR Sports management company employees that Neymar's playing days will be over "in 10 years" and that the brand must go on afterwards. Yes, the documentary briefly touches upon Neymar's most controversial moments including when he is accused of rape, but it is brushed over in a few moments, with Neymar stating that "anyone who knows me knows that I am a man of character, who would never do anything like that", and we simply must take it at face value. Surely this will not be the last documentary on Neymar, and I for one look forward to getting an independent look at Neymar at some point. May I suggest the Oscar winning documentarian Asif Kapadia, who brought us "Diego Maradona", "Amy", and "Senna", just to name those, all of which set the gold standard of making compelling, must-see documentary bio-pics.

"Neymar: The Perfect Chaos" premiered on Netflix this week, and as a die-hard soccer fan, I couldn't wait to see it. I watched all 3 episodes in a single setting last night. While it is fun to see snippets of Neymar's personal life, for me this documentary mini-series falls short of the high standards of other documentary bio-pics, such as those from the afore-mentioned Asif Kapadia. But of course don't take my word for it, so I encourage you to check this out, and draw your own conclusion.