A bona fide British classic, this early-1980s paean to love and soccer (in that order) centers on the titular Gregory (charmingly played by John Gordon Sinclair), a 16-year-old literally outgrowing his jersey while dealing with every adolescent issue under the Scottish sun. What’s more, he’s gone and lost his place on the soccer team to a girl, Dorothy (Dee Hepburn), and is demoted to goalkeeper, the sporting equivalent of being turned down for a date. No matter, for Gregory is now in love. Director Bill Forsyth squeezes gallons of emotion out of his wholesome cast. What’s more, it’s the perfect length for a film about soccer: 90 minutes.
Scotland and Algeria may not have given very much to soccer’s rich tapestry, but its artists Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno came up trumps with the almost art-house movie Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait. The pair used 17 synchronized film and video cameras to track the mercurial midfielder’s every movement during an April 2005 match. The end result will either mesmerize you or put you to sleep. For those in the former camp, the movie offers a compelling look at one of France’s greatest players ever, with a haunting score by Scottish band Mogwai that might just be their career highlight. It also, curiously, ends in exactly the same way that Zidane’s career would at the following year’s World Cup: with five minutes to play in the match, he’s sent off, illustrating that his temper would ultimately be his undoing.
