Diamantino

Completely Foot

Film. A crazy fable about populism and football that mocks Cristiano Ronaldo, Diamantino the Portuguese UFO awarded at Cannes.

Diamantino is a Portuguese football player. A national idol, a leading striker who is reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo in his haircut and his earrings. But the comparison stops there, at least we hope for the star of Juventus in Turin.

“A tale that confronts at the time, from the cult of the body to the question of gender, through the rise of populism.”

Diamantino (Carloto Cotta) has the intelligence and imagination of an eight-year-old and it’s because he sees little dogs smeared with pink smoke on the ground telling him where to send the ball he marks goals.

When his father dies, his visions disappear and he discovers the world around him. The far-right government that wants to collect its DNA to create a breed of supermen, the suffering of migrants… He decides to adopt one, without knowing that it is in fact a cross-dresser investigative journalist who wants to investigate the misappropriation of funds used by his manipulative sisters to defraud the taxman.

In short, Diamantino is a somewhat crazy tale that confronts at the time, from the cult of the body to the question of gender, through the rise of populism. This film, co-directed by the Portuguese Gabriel Abrantes and the American Daniel Schmidt, is uneven… The image a bit mowed often evokes a TV movie.

Let’s not talk about special effects that are minium vintage, the main part of the budget being spent in the rental of a yellow Lamborghini and a mansion in bad taste completed. But that did not stop the film from receiving the Critics’ Week Grand Prix at Cannes in 2018. Her little dogs are awarded a special mention at the Dog Palm. Diamantino seduces (and often roar with laughter) with his subversive and squeaky words that embrace the great themes of our time. Recalling that the most important thing for a movie is to have something to say!

J.B.

VOIR AUSSI