Teyss

To start with, I don't fully agree with the two previous reviews on the following items, and definitely not with the ratings.-

• The documentary does somewhat focus on Portugal, though not as much as asserted and it's probably to provide a concrete illustration of the whole affair, instead of moving from one country to another since many were involved. Also maybe it's linked to the contacts the director could concretely establish, which leads to my second point.-
• The movie does extensively interview two figures of FC Porto (and only two as opposed to what was said), which is indeed questionable. First, they are not key protagonists of the scandals so why spend so much time with them when there are many more interesting interventions as we'll see? Probably again for illustrative purposes, although it's quite thin. Second, the two men are to date condemned or indicted in different cases which casts a shadow on their testimonies. However it's difficult to say how much of their issues were known at the time the film was shot; maybe a few comments should have been added to the captions at the end.

Regardless, the documentary offers many interesting aspects:

• It provides a decent outline of the Football Leaks scandals which shook the sports world from 2015 to 2019 and even beyond. It can just be an overview else it would run for hours; actually these affairs would make a fine TV series.-
• Most interviews are of high quality: the Doyen Sports representative (Nélio Lucas), knowledgeable journalists (working for Sábado which revealed Rui Pinto's identity, the New York Times, Mediapart), a prominent football agent, the lawyer who defended Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, etc. It shows a captivating kaleidoscope exploring different sides with the exception that unfortunately Pinto refused to be interviewed.-
• The film uses Doyen Sports as a lead narrative to provide continuity throughout. Again, it might be due to the fact the director was able to get a long meeting with Lucas, yet in this instance it works quite well due to the dynamic, sometimes comical, nature of the interview.-
• The movie does not take sides: there is no bias, at least no intentional one. It lets Lucas and the agent express their opinions without much contradiction, hence there is no real "bandido" as Lucas says, simply different points of views. It reveals Pinto's dark side by highlighting he stole money from a Cayman bank (before partly giving it back) and tried to blackmail Doyen Sports. Was he a crook who afterwards became a whistleblower, as a journalist thinks? Was he blackmailing Doyen Sports to test them, as his lawyer implies? Did he need the money? No definite answer can be given, and it's good the film doesn't try to. Incidentally, some footage shows Edward Snowden and Antoine Deltour (LuxLeaks) defending Pinto.-
• The documentary is built like a thriller with suspense, action and incredible scenes: Cristiano Ronaldo acclaimed by his fans on his way to and from the court, a meeting in a café near the highway to setup the blackmail, the revelation of Pinto's identity (a 29-year-old who looks 20, far from the image of a tough hacker), his arrest. Editing is efficient, with a sustained rhythm. There are some meaningful images, for instance when we see Pinto with a bow and arrow, illustrating the fact he was called a "Robin Hood" previously.

On the other hand, there are some drawbacks on top of the ones mentioned in the introduction:

• The documentary pretends to address the Football Leaks, however we only see a part of it: a few countries (Portugal, Spain, England), clubs (Benfica, Real Madrid, Manchester United), players (notably Ronaldo) and protagonists, whilst actually the cases spread out to other countries like Switzerland, France, Netherlands, Belgium and Monaco. Even FIFA and UEFA were involved, yet it's just rapidly mentioned. Also there were other affairs than financial opacity and fiscal evasion: fraud, corruption, collusion, exploitation of African children.-
• Actually, the movie mainly focuses on Doyen Sports which is merely an element of the Leaks. If it is efficient in terms of form as we saw above, in terms of content it is a bit limited. Especially since it doesn't explore the full operations of the company, just rapidly its links with a supposedly shady Kazakh family. Was it really used for money laundering? It is only hinted.-
• Pinto was not alone gathering the files although he was the key figure. It's understandable the director wanted to personalise and dramatise the story, but he could have least have mentioned other persons were involved.-
• Nobody from Der Spiegel is interviewed even though it was the magazine through which most information was channelled.-
• As a side note, since the film was shot in 2022, it could not reveal the denouement of Pinto's trial in 2023 consisting of a four-year suspended sentence. In any case, this as well as the previous two points represent minor flaws.

In summary, the movie is worth watching even if you are not interested by football, to understand how a highly popular milieu can be corrupted by excessive amounts of money. The main downside is its relatively reduced scope, hence it is unfortunate it did not broaden the investigation, else its intrinsic qualities would have delivered an absolute reference in the Football Leaks depiction. It ends on two compelling quotes, amongst many, from two clever journalists:

• "People don't care (about football scandals). That's on the news cycle for a couple of days, but the next weekend Cristiano (Ronaldo) scores two goals and everything goes away."-
• "It tells you the world really functions in a grey area. There is nothing that is completely pure and not this other end which is pure evil. There is this kind of mess in the middle that we are all operating in."

What makes 'Tatami' so captivating? It is an efficient thriller and intimately connects us with the main character.

A THRILLER SHOT LIKE A TRAGEDY

The movie follows the rules of classic tragedy:

• Unity of time: all actions occur in less than 24 hours, except the epilogue a year later and the flashbacks of course;
• Unity of space: the plot is mainly located in the Dojo of the World Championships. When we see the family in Iran, they are interacting by phone with Leila on site, with very few exceptions;
• Unity of action: the two stories, namely the competition and pressure from the regime, are closely intertwined.

The use of black and white increases the sense of classical format and tragedy, the former being enhanced by the "old" aspect ratio of 1.33 to 1, which is closer to a square than the more common 1.85 or 2.40. Overall it looks more like a film noir than a sports feature.

The action follows a downward slope where characters are increasingly threatened and unable to avoid their fate, as in a nightmare. The happy end is only relative: granted, Maryam, Leila and her son eventually live in France, yet we don't know what happened to Leila's husband and parents, as well as Maryam's mother. In the penultimate scene, both women are in a bus as they were in the first scene, a gripping loop since it seems nothing has changed whilst everything has. They look at each other and only vaguely smile: a bittersweet ending.

To increase the dramatic atmosphere, the movie deliberately aims for efficiency rather than accuracy as it takes many liberties with Judo standards. As such, it is not a film about Judo: sport is a background to the thriller.-

• The World Judo Association (WJA) does not exist, it is the International Judo Federation (IJF). Senior officials would not get involved so directly and at such short notice.-
• No Judo World Championships were ever staged in Tbilisi, where the film was shot: the actual environment (Dojo and streets of the city) is more important than historical accuracy.-
• The IJF does not allow wearing a hijab (headscarf) on the tatami for safety reasons, contrarily to some national or regional organisations; wearing a bonnet has occasionally been tolerated. This is bypassed by the movie in order to illustrate the clothing norms imposed to Iranian women: it provides a general dimension to the specific plot.-
• The rhythm of the competition is on the fast side. The World Championships are indeed held in one day for each weight category, with a maximum of 6 combats from round of 64 to the final. However they spread over hours to allow Judokas to recover from the effort and potential wounds, whilst the movie action almost seems to be in real time.-
• The fights are purposefully dramatized. Some techniques are practically unseen at this level, for instance Tomoe Nage for those who know Judo (the "attacker" falls on her back and projects the opponent over her), which a world-class Judoka could easily counter.-
• The Iranian federation and pundits react much too quickly to Leila's success: they intervene at the beginning of the competition, whilst it is absolutely not certain she will face the Israeli Judoka in the final. Actually related instructions would have been given ahead of the competition, but this would not have enabled the dramatic build-up.

AN INTIMATE CONNECTION

Most of all, we intimately share the main character's experience.-

• The image is generally dark with many shadows, echoing the feelings of the two main characters. The backgrounds are especially sombre, illustrating the looming threats.-
• Most of the action occurs inside and when it does not, exterior scenes are obscure: the overall sensation is claustrophobic and oppressive.-
• The above-mentioned narrow format of 1.33 increases this feeling of confinement.-
• The grain of the film is rather thick, as opposed to the usual smooth texture nowadays. It is as if we were touching the rugged Judogi uniform (improperly called "kimono") worn by the athletes, feeling the dense atmosphere, smelling the sweaty environment.-
• The fights are frequently shown close or very close, with fast camera movements and quick editing: we are on the tatami with Leila.-
• There are subjective shots where we see through Leila's eyes, for instance when her vision is blurred in the last combat.-
• All flashbacks are related to Leila: we visualise them with her. Some are intimate: a nude scene in bed with her husband, a sweet scene with her son in his bed. We follow her train of thoughts: the photograph flashes before a round evoke a powerful scene where she dances with her husband, among stroboscopic lights in a clandestine club (since her hair is loose).-

The movie depicts the emancipation of Leila who refuses to submit herself, symbolically removes her hijab in the last round and defects. Interestingly, she becomes an example for Maryam who, after complying, supports her, confesses to unduly forfeiting the 1988 Olympics and also defects: a reversed situation since Maryam has always been a model for Leila.

The plot is not strictly based on real facts: it is a compilation and dramatization of existing incidents. According to the diaspora site 'Radio Farda', the directors mentioned the following references:

• Saeid Mollaei, an Iranian male Judoka who was ordered to lose during the 2019 World Championships to avoid facing an Israeli in the final;
• Elnaz Rekabi, an Iranian female climber who appeared without hijab during the 2022 Asian Championships;
• Kimia Alizadeh, an Iranian female taekwondo athlete, who defected in 2020.

These events are condensed in the story of Leila. For memo the boycott of Israeli athletes is not specific to Iran or Judo; in Judo alone there were recently e.g. Fethi Nourine (Algerian) and Mohamed Abdalarasool (Sudanese) during the 2021 Olympics, as well as Messaoud Driss (Algerian) during the 2024 Olympics. Leila's exile also echoes co-director Zar Amir Ebrahimi's who plays the role of the coach Maryam and who was forced to leave Iran in 2008.

In summary, 'Tatami' is a compelling thriller with political, ethical and personal insights. It appropriately embodies the present repression by the Iranian regime of all its citizens, notably women. Ironically this oppression is not even efficient: the Israeli Judoka who could have faced Leila in the final eventually loses in semi-final. Hence if Leila had not been stressed by threats, she would have been more focused, could have passed the quarter-final stage, have won a medal for Iran and would not have defected. Note the final twist: in the ultimate scene, Leila as part of the Refugees Team faces an Iranian Judoka. Repression has turned against itself.