Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait
Part of BAMcinematek
Fri, Oct 24—Sun, Oct 26 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9:15pm
Mon, Oct 27—Thu, Oct 30 at 4:30, 6:50, 9:15pm
(2006) 90min
Directed by Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno
“This movie is a must-see for everyone interested in football, and anyone interested in how cinema is capable of stillness and portraiture, how it can do without the various conventions of fiction or documentary.” —The Guardian (UK)
Acclaimed visual artists Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno transform spectacular footage of French soccer star Zinédine Zidane—recorded by seventeen cameras during a match between Real Madrid and Villareal—into an innovative film closer to visual art than sports documentary. The filmmakers set the athlete’s reflections in text over 35mm, HD, and TV images, taken from various distances and perspectives, and blend stadium sound with a melancholy score by Scottish band Mogwai. The result is a rigorous experiment with cinematic form and an arresting study of a sports icon. In French with English subtitles.
Exclusive engagement co-presented at BAMcinématek and Anthology Film Archives.
The New York Times review of Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait
"[A]fter 90 absorbing minutes watching [Zidane] walking and running across a field...he will seem more expressively human, less of an aesthetic conceit and more of a man, than he does at the start of this self-described 21st Century Portrait." More
The Time Out New York review of Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait
"[T]o see everything boiled down to one man’s stillness and movement is a transcendentalist high, a concentrated dose of poetry in motion." More
The New Yorker review of Zidane: A 21st Century Potrait
"In 2006, the Frenchman Zinédine Zidane, the most gifted—and certainly the most enigmatic—of recent soccer players, received a suitably unusual tribute." More
Zinedine Zidane's Wikipedia Entry
"Zinedine Yazid Zidane (born 23 June 1972 in Marseille), popularly nicknamed Zizou, is a French former football midfielder. He was a member of the French national team that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000, as well as being the recipient of the Golden Ball after he captained the French side to the 2006 World Cup final." More
Mogwai's Soundtrack to Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait
Listen to the music from the film. More
Matador Records on Mogwai's Latest Album
"With only two songs under the five-minute mark, this is maybe [Mogwai's] most "cinematic"-sounding record to date." More
Mogwai on Myspace
Listen to Mogwai's music and learn about the band on myspace. More