The Toronto International Film Festival is into its final few days, and I'm excited about what's still to come on my plate.
But enough about This Filthy World. As for Offside, it was very good and more's the pity that the morning timing, the late notice and the Typepad performance let us down the other day when it came to giving away some passes.
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| Reuters |
| Zidane: 'Perhaps the greatest film about an athlete ever made.' |
But here's the last chance for that kind of thing. This is about Zidane: Un Portrait du XXIe Siècle (A 21st-century Portrait), one of my Flick Picks for sports lovers at this year's fest. And you can snag tickets - free tickets, yay! - to Friday afternoon's 3:45 p.m. showing at the Varsity. Friday afternoon, 3:45 - good timing, in this case, late enough that you can nip out early from the office/school/halfway house, and early enough to make happy hour yoga class parole dinner.
I've got a pair to give away to loyal readers, as we move toward the one-year anniversary of this tiny corner. The catch is that I'm going, too, but trust me, in these packed theatres -- and this show is SRO, I'm told -- just getting two seats together is a victory bigger than Italy at the World Cup. So you won't have to put up with me, other than the ticket handoff. But I would like you to submit a 50-word review/monologue/musing that I can pop in the blog on Monday. C'mon, you knew there was a catch.
Oh yes, the film. No head-butting here, but fascinating nonetheless from the sound of it -- A 90-minute (of course) doc that uses footage from 17 high-def cameras trained on Zidane during a 2005 Spanish League game. No interviews, no talk, just Zidane, doing his thang.
John Doyle, my old soccer-travelling pal from the Globe, had a review of this one today, and to say it was glowing is an understatement. It's subscribers-only, unfortunately, but here's a free lift: "The result is fabulous, perhaps the greatest film about an athlete ever made. It is not Zidane explained or exposed. It is Zidane the player scrutinized with an artist's eye for grace, beauty, physical tension and the subtlety of human drama."
Wow. I can't wait.
So here's the deal. Either email me or post a comment below (they won't be published) to indicate your interest. Early tomorrow afternoon I'll close the windows and do a draw here at JABS Mansion for the two tickets. Go to it, kids.
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