Talkies Community Cinema: Next Goal Wins

This comedy-drama, directed and co-written by Taika Waititi, although ostensibly about football, is really about celebrating culture, community and teamwork.

Next Goal Wins follows a failed Dutch-American coach’s efforts to salvage the honour of American Samoa’s football team in the 2014 World Cup qualifying rounds after a historic 31-0 loss to Australia in 2001. In this lush Polynesian territory, Michael Fassbender plays coach Thomas Rongen who has only a few weeks to turn his ragtag squad into team players who can hold their own – and maybe score their first goal ever – in a match against the Tongan team in the first qualifying round. It’s based on the well-received 2014 documentary of the same name, and Waititi ensures his film is both entertaining and thought-provoking, particularly in relation to Jalyah, a non-binary and trans woman, a fa’afafine, seen and accepted as a third gender in Polynesian society.

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