It is difficult to contest football’s (or soccer’s) cultural influence on people all over the world, for better or ill.Both on and off the ground, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar is now generating headlines.
Many people are criticising foul play in what appears to be the most divisive World Cup in history. Given that everyone is thinking about football and the World Cup in particular, this makes it excellent material for aspiring filmmakers, despite being extremely damaging.
Film and soccer have a long history together. Some of the most heartwarming tales are based on soccer fields, like Gurinder Chadha’s Bend it Like Beckham, while wildly popular documentaries like Netflix’s FIFA Uncovered explore historical athletic successes and tragedies.
Among the documentaries that drew in a lot of viewers was Steve Jamieson and Mike Brett’s Next Goal Wins.
The documentary, which debuted concurrently with the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, was a financial and critical success and now holds a coveted 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Holdovers by Alexander Payne and Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money were among the interesting film titles that were screened at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, where the sports comedy also made its international debut. Ross Bonaime of Collider was less enthusiastic about the movie, awarding it a B- and noting in his review:
Is ‘Next Goal Wins’ Trailer Available?
On April 26, 2023, the official Next Goal Wins trailer was made available online immediately after it was screened at Disney’s CinemaCon panel.
The clip, which is set to the song “Take a Chane on Me” by ABBA, promotes itself as coming from writer/director Taika Waititi, who lost both the Teen Choice Award and the Best Picture Academy Award for Thor: Ragnarok.
Prior to the movie’s TIFF premiere, the first clip was made public on September 6, 2023.
On September 25, Searchlight Pictures unveiled a second trailer for Next Goal Wins. In the one-minute trailer, Waititi discusses the film’s creation and asserts that, having directed the picture, he now understands less about football than before.
What Does ‘Next Goal Wins’ Contain?
Kaimana in Searchlight Photos’ Next Goal Wins Image
It is reasonable to anticipate that the narrative substance will be the same as the work is devoted to the original documentary of the same name.
In order to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the American Samoa football team must contend with the notion that they are among the weakest teams in history.
This is the subject of the British documentary. Of course, there are a lot of obvious distinctions between fiction and documentary films, but the original material may still be more than dutifully honoured provided proper care and consideration are used. The official story summary, which reads as follows, also reveals how much the Next Goal Wins team wishes to adhere to the original:
NEXT GOAL WINS, directed by Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit, Thor: Ragnarok), centres on the notoriously bad American Samoa football club, well remembered for a catastrophic 31-0 defeat in a 2001 FIFA competition.
In this funny and touching underdog tale, the squad employs down-on-his-luck, maverick coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) in anticipation of the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers in the hopes that he will turn around the world’s worst football team.
Who Is Cast in ‘Next Goal Wins’?
Will Arnett and Elisabeth Moss in the Next Goal WinsSearchlight Pictures image
The first and most notable actor to appear is Michael Fassbender, who plays wildcard coach Thomas Rongen in X-Men: First Class.
Rongen was renowned for his unconventional manner, which made the documentary incredibly enjoyable for those who were passionate about football or the original documentary.
Fans are clearly delighted about Fassbender’s pick, despite the fact that it appears odd for the part.
Fassbender’s cast members include Elisabeth Moss from The Handmaid’s Tale as Gail, Will Arnett from Arrested Development as Alex Magnussen, Rhys Darby from Our Flag Means Death as Rhys Martin, Uli Latukefu from Black Adam as Nicky Salapu, Angus Sampson from Fargo as Angus Bendleton, Oscar Kightley from Hunt for the Wilderpeople as Tavita, newcomer Kaimana as Jaiyah Saelua, Beulah Koale from Hawaii Five-0 as Daru Taumua, Rachel House from Thor: Ragnarok as Ruth, David Fane from Our Flag Means Death as Ace, and more.
Talk to Me’s Chris Alosio as Jonah and Ioane Goodhue as Smiley As Pisa, Lehi Makisi Falepapalangi (Future Man), Luke Hemsworth (Westworld) as Keith, Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart) as Nicole, David Tu’itupou as Tall David, Levy Tuiala as Chief Sila, Loretta Ables Sayre (The White Lotus) as Rambo’s mother, Frankie Adams (The Expanse) as Frangipani, Sisa Grey (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow), and Waititi himself are among the cast members who play Rambo, Semu Filipo as Rambo, and Waititi himself.
‘Next Goal Wins’—Who Is Winning?
Image courtesy of Searchlight Pictures shows Taika Waititi and Lachlan Milne on the set of Next Goal Wins
The team behind a film’s conception and subsequent production often goes unrecognised. But this isn’t feasible for Next Goal Wins.
As previously stated, Iain Morris (The Inbetweeners) and Taika Waititi are the film’s co-writers and director.
With his takeover of one of the most recent entries in the ever growing and pervasive Marvel Cinematic Universe, Waititi’s name has recently been at the forefront of popular culture around films.
Fans who like the distinct storytelling style employed by the MCU were not impressed by his effort to apply his own brand of self-aware genre-bending in Thor: Love and Thunder, which he wrote and directed.
Next Goal Wins was filmed in Honolulu some time ago, so it’s possible that cinematographer Lachlan Milne (Stranger Things) had plenty of time to create visually stunning frames.
The film’s soundtrack was composed by Michael Giacchino, who is most renowned for his work on Ratatouille and—possibly—Up. This ensures that the picture will be both a visual and auditory thrill.
