The 1994 World Cup was a big thing for Romania. Not just the football watching part of the country, but pretty much everyone. It was the first time the country really took center stage in a positive way after the 1989 Revolution. The national team's performance had a wide ranging impact. And it has since become a footballing reference point we look back upon with affection and melancholy.
Claudiu Mitcu's documentary does well to catch some of the atmosphere and feelings of the times. Featuring many of the protagonists, we are accompanied through the years leading up to the 1994 WC and then the event itself. Even if the approach is less structured than I would have liked, it's hard not to get a sense of the emotions involved.
With the advantage of time passing on its side, the documentary coaxes more intimate introspection and revelation from those involved. This is something that usually eludes modern day sports documentaries, with active athletes loathe to say anything controversial. Florin Raduciou, the charismatic striker, is probably the most effective storyteller, entertaining, revealing and also emotional. Yet, there's a sense of honest rumination for most participants.
What drags the movie down other than the loose structure is the inclusion of too many talking heads. Not sure if it could have been better to focus on a few storytellers, as the wide spread isn't very impactful. That aside though, there's definitely no justification in including some of the most controversial figures of 90s Romanian football for colour commentary - impresario Giovanni Becali and former Football Federation President Mircea Sandu.
I would have also liked more of a parallel with the state of Romanian society, a deeper look into what it really meant at that time for people in the country. As it stands, the movie doesn't aim to do more than highlight the elation of victories.
I have no idea how this documentary hits for those who haven't lived the times. The cinema I went to was completely empty on opening day, hinting that the alienation modern day Romanian football fans feel has even seeped into our memories. That said, I do hope it finds its audience, because those times will be tough to recreate - if not impossible seeing how the gaps in sport are ever increasing between those with access to resources and those without.
