«Campeones»: The Champions of a Love for Sports

Cinema Wednesdays - Alexandre Wälti

Never watch a dubbed Spanish film if you speak Almodovar's language, of course. You'll lose the flavor of the rapid articulation of words, that indispensable springboard of comedy or sometimes drama. Or rather, take a closer look at the details of the screening before entering the cinema. The result can be catastrophic.

Without the subtitles in the original version and the rhythm of the language of Rafael Alberti, the Andalusian poet of the sea, Campeones by Javier Fesser might be bland. For starters, Champions, the French title of the film, is less impactful and more lackluster. Quite the opposite of a basketball! Let’s hope the film doesn’t reflect this early misstep. Maybe the magic of cinema will overcome the dubbing, which doesn’t match the actors’ lip movements. That’s what went through my mind right from the film’s opening scene. After that, everything happened very quickly!

No sooner had he sat down than Marco (Javier Gutiérrez)—the hot-tempered assistant coach of a major basketball team—was already in the thick of things. First, there was a heated argument with a mentally disabled employee of the Madrid City Hall who gave him a parking ticket. A man he’ll run into again later without realizing it. Then there’s the game during which he shoves the head coach over a strategic disagreement. Finally, drunkenness, an accident, insults, jail, and a verdict: community service. He loses his driver’s license and ends up coaching Los Amigos, a team of people with intellectual disabilities, for several months. A total downfall, at any rate, for someone who refuses to admit defeat, to be wrong, or to acknowledge his players’ lack of effectiveness. Pride in its most extreme form—all too Spanish.

It’s always the rhythm, and more rhythm—the pace of speech is lacking in French. That’s a fact! This gives the film an off-putting tone right from the start. Especially since Javier Fesser’s camera moves and also from one scene to the next at a perfectly comical pace, as in the first practice at the community center. Let's put all that aside for now and see if it's funny.

Once again, it's all about the rhythm! Anyone who has seen a performance of the Scapin's Schemes by Molière or any other comedy will know. And the other one? Well, the other one—if he’s curious enough—should head to the nearest theater or movie theater to shout his heart out. To laugh at everything—and with intelligence. That may well have been Javier Fesser’s guiding principle when writing the screenplay for his film. From the very first hours of training, Marco will face a number of incredible surprises—much like those in Scapin’s bag, for that matter.

Marco: an ambitious man who is the polar opposite of the players he currently coaches. He wants to win at any cost. They just want to have fun with friends, like everyone else. Sergio (Sergio Olmo) works at a cosmetics factory. He has sudden lapses of inattention, sometimes forgetting that he’s holding the ball in his hands. Juanma (José de Luna) is passionately devoted to the animals he dotes on endlessly at a shelter. He no longer washes because he’s afraid of water, but he still wants to thank and hug his coach nonstop.

Benito (Alberto Nieto Fernández) is a dishwasher at a restaurant, and his boss always makes fun of him whenever he brings up the basketball team. He always shoots from as far away from the basket as possible. Finally, there’s the hyperactive and utterly endearing Collantes (Gloria Ramos), nicknamed “the pain in the ass” for a very obvious reason. She does whatever she wants and doesn’t let anyone get to her. Like the rest of the team, they all have different intellectual disabilities and gradually come together as a true team. This, of course, will change both Marco’s behavior and that of his players.

A great human adventure, actually! A comedy, too! And a high-quality one at that! In any case, it’s no disaster—far from it, I assure you. A comedy that transcends the simple barrier of language and the challenges of dubbing. Hearty laughter and warm smiles. Members of a basketball team who simply long to free themselves from fears, from being different, and from judgmental stares—and who want to be who they are: people with their strengths and weaknesses, with their joys and sorrows. Athletes dedicated to the team.

Men and women whose greatest pleasure is to free themselves from all distinctions. A freedom that is earned through hard work. As if they had taken to heart the words of Rafael Alberti:

«Freedom does not belong to those who do not feel its thirst.»

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Photo credit: © Paesens-Film