Reviews
CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

July 5, 2022
7.0
There is something really quite unnerving about this drama. It adopts a fly-on-the-wall approach to depict the brief time Martin Bengtsson spent at Inter Milan in 2004. He was a skinny, determined, 16 year old bought by this legendary football club where, upon arrival, he struggled pretty much from the start of his short-lived flirtation with top flight football. Erik Enge is really very good in the role. His desire to succeed and to sacrifice whatever is needed to achieve that, is palpably delivered as the film gradually exposes us to a culture in which success is everything. Not speaking Italian doesn't help the young Swede, nor does his own lack of maturity - but it is soon pretty clear that this kind of training atmosphere is not designed to foster any sort of team spirit. It is very much dog eat dog - failure means sale or worse. Luckily, he makes friends with "Ryan" (Alfred Enoch) who speaks English, helps him find his way, buy his first car (even if he is too young to drive) and to see a bit of the nightlife where he meets model "Vibeke" (Frida Gustavsson). His bosses take a dim view of this liaison and coupled with the alienation and pressures he is constantly subjected to, we are soon aware that his mental health is just as precarious as his physical one. This film aims fairly and squarely at an industry - and that is, I think, entertainment in general, not just soccer - that values success at all costs. People are just as much a product as if they were in a jar on a shelf. The challenges he faces are immense but so are the rewards, and those who facilitate - rather than deliver themselves, are benignly ruthless and seriously risk averse. Bengtsson was a boy in a man's world. Lonely, isolated and treated little better than a performing chimpanzee. The film itself is actually not that great. The production is quite basic and the POV style of photography did start to annoy me after a while, but the underlying messages of a desperation to thrive subsuming everything, and of an industry that cares little of any "duty of care" to those it attracts makes for a compelling, at times quite tough, film to watch.

Recommendation Movies

6.6
Drama
View
6.6
The Tattooed Widow
The Tattooed Widow1998
7.3
Comedy
View
7.3
Good Morning, Vietnam
Good Morning, Vietnam1987
7.2
Drama
View
7.2
The Hating Game
The Hating Game2021
7
Drama
View
7
Challengers
Challengers2024
8.1
Animation
View
8.1
Soul
Soul2020
8.4
Comedy
View
8.4
Parasite
Parasite2019
8.4
Adventure
View
8.4
Interstellar
Interstellar2014
7
Drama
View
7
Anora
Anora2024
7.6
Action
View
7.6
Mad Max: Fury Road
Mad Max: Fury Road2015
8.1
Science Fiction
View
8.1
Dune: Part Two
Dune: Part Two2024
7.6
Family
View
7.6
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The Super Mario Bros. Movie2023
6.9
Drama
View
6.9
Saltburn
Saltburn2023
7.8
Comedy
View
7.8
La La Land
La La Land2016
8.4
Drama
View
8.4
Fight Club
Fight Club1999
6.3
Science Fiction
View
6.3
Jurassic World Rebirth
Jurassic World Rebirth2025
7.8
Adventure
View
7.8
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Fantastic Mr. Fox2009
7.7
Adventure
View
7.7
Big Fish
Big Fish2003
7.4
Action
View
7.4
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
Mission: Impossible - Fallout2018
8.3
Drama
View
8.3
Whiplash
Whiplash2014
8.3
Crime
View
8.3
The Silence of the Lambs
The Silence of the Lambs1991
© 2025 MoovieTime. All rights reserved.Made with Nuxt