There are many who regard football as more important than life itself; however that is not true. This phrase has been echoed in every corner of the world of soccer for years and little did he know it at that time but Shankly would clean the very hearts and index of what meaning this game cut across thousands of people especially with regard to those who made Smari Gunn and Logi Sigursveinsson’s The Home Game.
Moving to the next continent today one still sees the same thing: soccer is almost a universal culture. Soccer can foster society, impart wisdom, create bonds and strengthen people together for one aim. Once dubbed as “the beautiful game”, this overused phrase of choice now has a more sinister side as a dispassionate capitalism and nation states ruled by corrupt regimes has taken over the professional game of football. But in smaller images soccer is still beautiful game. This new international documentary shows how.
The Home Game is a low-budget yet captivating Icelandic documentary which goes against all odds and twists that have become the hallmarks of today’s professional football. It narrates the story of Reynir FC, a rural village team in Iceland which successfully reformed itself to enter its very first ever domestic cup tournament. A small population of only 369 people inhabits the small fishing village of hellissandur deep into Western Iceland and this village also hosts the local football club named Reynir FC.
Kari Gylfason was born in this sleepy town 30 years ago and now it is his aim to achieve what his father couldn’t let alone do let alone imagine when he formed Reyner FC for the first time 25 years back. They were thrashed 10-0 and lost their first and only match so far, but Kari will have to try and build almost a decent side from among the few people who are willing to play and are in shape to represent his community- tough assignment because there are not many players and the weather is typical for Iceland quite blustery but passion prevails at the end of the day.
By doing so, this brilliant picture revives and reestablishes trust in the game of soccer and shows that there are still humane aspects within the game even in the most far flung rural areas. The phrase “It takes a village to raise a child” is probably valid or better still, ‘It takes a village to make soccer team’ more so a team formed by Kari who has had to depend on volunteers to do everything from prepping the field to making sure the new jerseys have been ordered.
There have been several miracles in many great sports documentaries about great athletes and great events that all revolve around complete stupidity. These stories tend to rely on unexpected triumphs in a sporting event or rock bottom losses in a sporting event as is the case with Netflix’s Sunderland ‘Til I Die or Amazon Prime’s All or Nothing, a sports drama series.
On the other hand in the case of The Home Game, time is not a matter because of the freshness of the theme. It is a representation of the intricacies of man’s endeavors that are indomitable and the determination of the many who lie at the very heart of the master plan. Such deep-rooted passions have seldom been captured on film as they are in The Home Game. The spine of the movie is Resa’s mother and grandfather and their resilience and excitement as they chase this long shot.
The Home Game is a universal story of soccer with all three dimensions which shows how youth soccer is played and what its importance is. At the same time one can only guess why a 78 minute wait is necessary in order to convey such a story – a wait for the story in the perspective of the viewer’s imagination seems unnecessary. This is a hopeful narrative that has portrayed sport in a positive light after decades of depressing negativity.
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