Maradona by Kusturica

It gets to a slow start, but then Maradona by Kusturica, a quixotic documentary by the Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica which I had the pleasure to translate for AleKino!, explodes into a rich and engaging narrative that weaves together sport, personal drama, humour and politics.

Motivated by his desire to "make the best film about Diego Maradona ever", Kusturica travels with his crew to Buenos Aires in a bid to talk the Argentine football icon into letting him sneak into his secrets. Maradona, a character larger than life by any standards, quiclky connects with the affable Serb, even though they talk through an interpreter, and the process of documenting his career and his private highs and lows starts. For Kusturica, clearly intimidated by Maradona's genius as a footballer and obsessed with controversies surrounding his life choices, it's an opportunity to relate Diego's story to some of his own films that, surprisingly, feature a number of characters, motives and scenes that directly correspond to Maradona's experiences. For example, when Emir brings Diego to post-war Belgrade, the footballer recounts over barbecue how, as a young boy, he and others in his hometown of Villa Fiorito, a shantytown on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, persistently played football even late into the night when they could hardly see the ball and how this exercise sharpened their skills. Kusturica, a bit dreamily, matches this powerful account with a scene from his film where in a stadium full of spectators a match is being played out in thick fog. Interestingly, the two also connect in their political outlook, both being broadly speaking anti-American (the film was made during George W. Bush's presidency) and strongly socialist. The camera travels on the Alba Express to Mar de Plata where a gigantic street protest is being held by those opposed to South America's involvement in the American-led FTAA and Diego addresses the crowd as a guest of honour, shoulder to shoulder with Venezula's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Evo Morales.

But it's not politcs or social criticism that the documentary draws its strength from. It wouldn't have nearly the same kind of impact as it does if it weren't for Diego's spectacular career in football and all that it resulted in. It's a real treat to see Maradona's goals, including the infamous Hand of God that, as he reveals in the film, counted as revenge on the English after their victory in the Falkaland Wars for him. Astonishingly, Maradona's standing in Argentina led to the creation of the Church of Maradona, with its odd football-based rituals and completely deranged followers. Having realised that, it's no surprise that artists of international status, like Manu Chao, record songs dedicated to the God. His performance of La Vida Tombola, with Diego watching intently, is a moving closing act of the film. Far from only glorifying Maradona, the documentary is quick to remind his less glorious moments, like his descent into narcotic underworld or his angry outbursts on the football pitch.

The only thing in the film I found hard to appreciate was Kusturica's high-flying theorizing. On a few occasions, he breaks into far-fetched rambling that seems to go nowhere and adds virtually nothing to our understanding of Maradona's complexity. In fact, I caught myself switching off mentally every time I sensed Kusturica was getting to speak in polemic ways again. It meant trouble in terms of translation, too.

Some terms, linguistic and cultural, to remember:
1) to do everything to one's own detriment,
2) roly-poly = short and plump,
3) to peer into someone's life,
4) to ferret out the secrets,
5) shanties = budy, rudery,
6) a crown of thorns,
7) It only goes to prove...
8) Here's a therapeutic practice of fire cupping,
9) to get back on your feet,
10) hypertension = high blood pressure,
11) clot = skrzep,
12) Thanatos = mythological personification of death,
13) Do you remember Dolly Bell?,
14) Sam Peckinpah = a quintessential Western filmmaker,
15) Gilgamesh,
16) If cocaine is a drug, then I'm a drug addict.
17) a sumptuous (= wystawna) feast,
18) La Doce = the 12th player, a common name for Boca Juniors' fans,
19) a scissor kick
20) Gary Lineker on Maradona: Mad, bad and dangerous to know.