The Other Final

I have just finished watching this documentary and it really does show you the real side of football that people connect with and not the glamour and money that people associate with our game.

A great idea, A great documentary, A great game.

This was an interesting idea. Basically, a couple of Dutch guys decided to arrange a soccer match between Bhutan, a tiny, isolated Himalayan nation between India and China, and Montserrat, an even tinier island in the Caribbean. And they pulled it off: the Montserrat team went all the way to Bhutan and played a game there.

That's a pretty odd idea, needless to say, but it was great fun and it made for a very enjoyable movie. I'm not a soccer fan, so I can't say whether or not the soccer playing is very good (my guess is no), but I can say that both teams seemed to take the game seriously but still had a great international exchange.

This is a "feel good" movie. The only reason I didn't give it higher marks is that the filmmakers used way too many specialty shots, particularly during the game. The story is interesting enough to stand up on its own without needing that kind of distraction.

I saw this film on a late night when I should have gone to bed. I'm certainly glad I didn't because this tale of two countries is fantastic. It's beautifully put together, well shot and edited. Best of all, the characters tell the story and it doesn't suffer from "Nick Broom-itis" where the film maker is too much a part of the story. The football match that occurs at the end of the film is full of drama and well worth the wait too as the story builds well throughout.

A thoroughly enchanting piece for lovers of good film making with no footy knowledge required.

9/10

For me this was one of the best movies shown on the Locarno Filmfestival. It's a movie about the 2 lowest ranking football teams in the World (Buthan and Monserrat) in the offical FIFA ranking. While the final of the FIFA World Cup their having a own final. Their playing who's the worst team in the world. Buthan is a located in the Himalayas and is a budistic country rouled by a King. Monserrat on the other side is a Island located in the Antilles , they are Christ and a democartic Goverment. The film shows on a very special way how this 2 completely different Countrys come together, have fun and a good time playing football.

It's a very good film that you should not miss.

Kramer is part of the Dutch design office 'Kessels & Kramer', who, amongst other things, did campaigns for Diesel and the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel. At this bureau there were a few socker enthousiasts. When Holland didn't qualify for the FIFA world cup, they came up with the idea of their own FIFA match between the two lowest ranking FIFA members, which turned out to be Montserrat and Bhutan. The national stadium of Montserrat is a mess, build on an active volcano, so this match was held in Bhutan. Incredible that a bunch of non-film makers can give birth to such a pearl of a documentary. 'Kessels Kramer' is also famous for their books with found footage photography and low budget photography. Check it out!