by Chao María Paula
Juan José Campanella, the Argentinian film director, has scored a goal for his country with his 3-D animated movie “Metegol”. With very positive press opinion and over two millions of cinema-goers, it was the first national cartoon that threatened the giant Disney Pixar leadership in Argentina. A football player may say, “In your face, Mickey!”
The film, inspired in the Roberto Fontanarrosa’s tale “Memorias de un Wing Derecho”, won the Goya award from the Spanish Film Academy and many other prizes around the world. Its success is remarkable in most Spanish-speaking countries and it has been also dubbed into English with similar public acceptance. In the best way possible, Metegol presents Argentinian idiosyncrasy to the world.
Plenty of hilarious situations, the story depicts several characteristics of the average Argentinian. This melting pot society is portrayed by many different stereotypical characters, some of them not a whit exaggerated. For instance, “El Beto”, one of the funniest characters, is a mix of charm and arrogance, who speaks about himself in third person. This could be considered extremely weird by non Spanish- speakers who never listened to Maradona or Riquelme speaking about themselves in the same way.
One essential feature of the characters’ identity is the language they use. A noticeable local accent and lots of idiomatic expressions make them unmistakeably Argentinian. Idioms such as “pecho frio” or “lo tengo de hijo” may don´t find their equivalent in English, possibly missing the essence of some jokes in dubbed versions of the film. Nevertheless, its success in different countries is an indicator that the movie´s theme has overcome any cultural distance. The fanaticism of football supporters is shared by people of all nationalities, no matter their language.
Let´s reflect upon Carlos Tevez career. He was born in one of the poorest towns in Buenos Aires and twenty four years later, he was playing football in Manchester. Taking into account that both cities are like water and oil and that the only phrase in English he was able to produce was “It’s very difficult”, we arrive at the point of admitting that a kind of metaphysical force has operated on his life. Of course, that understanding between so different cultures has its origins in a millionaire business, but I prefer a more romantic explanation of the facts. At the very moment that Tevez scores a goal, the public vibrate with emotion. They communicate perfectly and no language is needed.
As a mosaic, Argentinian society has been built by immigrants from every corner of the globe that added their weaknesses as well as their strengths. This kind of pluralism could be found in any stadium of the world, where people congregate to watch a match putting aside any difference. In other words, football leads people to fraternize all around the world, because it has no other language than passion.
Why Metegol succeeded is the big question. Despite its good technical quality might have differentiated it from other local productions, it is not a convincing explanation on its own. Naturally, the presence of humour throughout the movie is one of its main attributes. But, there is something more important that makes the film attractive. Actually, different societies could identify with any of the characters embodying Argentinian idiosyncrasy.
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