“It’s the magnum opus,” says Australian documentary filmmaker Eli Mengem. There is no other way to define it. »
Published at 7:00 a.m.
This work is Once in a Lifetime : Argentina, a documentary retracing Argentina’s victorious journey at the 2022 World Cup. It is the “biggest project ever undertaken” by its media, Copa90.
The result: an always enriching, often breathtaking two-hour film, divided into four episodes, and launched as a world premiere at the Burgundy Lion pub, Wednesday evening, in Montreal. It was broadcast the same day in five other major cities: New York, Miami, London, Melbourne and, of course, Buenos Aires.
Like all Copa90 productions, it can be found free on YouTube, starting this Thursday.
Pourquoi Mengem parle-t-il d’un tel accomplissement ? C’est que sa bande et lui se sont rendus sur les lieux des festivités, au pays de l’Albiceleste, en 2022. Et contrairement aux autres documentaires du genre, celui-ci n’est pas raconté en rétrospective. Ses auteurs étaient sur place. Et pas juste pour la finale, disputée il y a deux ans jour pour jour. Mais bien à partir des quarts.
Les images, surtout pour les deux derniers épisodes, sont saisissantes. Comme cette dame, Laura, qui n’en peut plus de la tension des tirs de barrage, dans une rue chaotique de la capitale. Après 120 minutes de folie, son visage est caché dans les bras d’Eli Mengem… Vous imaginez son extase, quelques instants plus tard.
« Lorsqu’ils ont gagné, mon directeur de la photographie s’est tourné vers moi, raconte Mengem. Il m’a dit : “Tu réalises qu’on l’a deviné ?” J’y pense encore, parfois. On a deviné quelle serait la meilleure histoire de soccer de l’ère moderne. Pour moi, c’est ce qui rend [ce film] so special. »
Montreal, the “core of football culture in Canada”
About fiftyaficionados football players gathered for the viewing event at the Burgundy Lion on Wednesday evening. The establishment regularly welcomes soccer fans for match broadcasts, moreover. Including the 2022 final.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
A soccer fan at the Burgundy Lion pub, Wednesday evening, in Montreal
Why was it important to include Montreal in the six cities for the launch?
“What I like about Montreal is that it is the core of football culture in Canada,” believes Mengem, who has visited the Quebec metropolis several times. The love of football here seems to be the same love I feel. »
In Montreal, soccer is a way of life, and I felt it much more than in other cities.
Australian documentary filmmaker Eli Mengem
For Paul Desbaillets, partner of the Burgundy Lion group, it was natural to welcome Mengem’s film in his establishment. And this, even though he was only informed of it… last week!
“When I saw that it was this mad scientist and Copa90, I told myself that I had no choice but to make sure that it worked,” says the man who is also the host of the podcast series. 1st Half Culture Showfocused on North American football culture.
“My films are not about soccer”
Copa90, through its various series, seeks to tell “the world of football outside the 90 minutes, which makes the 90 minutes even more important”.
With their “guerrilla camera”, they filmed in India, Italy, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Greenland, Venezuela, Columbus, Montreal, Scotland. To name just these places. Their series Once in a Lifetime tells the stories of people whose favorite team is on the way to winning its first trophy in ages.
In short, the performances of players and clubs are not the favorite subject of Copa90. We discover the world – literally – that surrounds them. “My films are not about soccer,” says Eli Mengem. They are in-depth anthropological studies of culture. »
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
The documentary Once in a Lifetime : Argentina was also broadcast in New York, Miami, London, Melbourne and Buenos Aires on Wednesday.
The story of Argentina’s triumph is a perfect reflection of this. The first two episodes give all the historical context, from the “discovery” of Argentina by the colonists to its current faltering economy, including its similarities with Italian culture.
“I have never gone as in-depth as for this one,” says the director. It’s a film about the country and its people. And a mentality that is truly unique. »
The project was announced a year ago, with a trailer. Since then, some impatient people, who commented under the YouTube video, began to demand the release of the film. Why did it take two years after the images were captured to make the official launch?
“When you have something of this importance, it’s imperative not to make a mistake,” says Mengem, who has the eyes of a man in the home stretch of a long, long process.
“I’m never going to guess the World Cup champion again. And even less the champion of a World Cup with the best player of all time, at the end of the one and only World Cup being played in the summer [en Argentine].
“It’s coming out on the birthday. And it will live for eternity. »
