With the Paris Olympics having just concluded, a topic that often came up for discussion was to do with the inescapable blend of sports and politics. In his latest film, , Belgian-Guatemalan filmmaker Cesar Diaz consciously chooses the 1986 FIFA World Cup held in Mexico as a backdrop to tell a trenchant story—a mix of fact and fiction—about the resistance against the corrupt and violent Guatemalan military dictatorship of the day. However, more than that, the 1986 World Cup, which has gone down in history for Argentina’s unhindered victory, Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal and the spectators’ Mexican Wave, also becomes a playground to unspool an affecting mother-son saga.
A case of the lows of the human struggles for liberty, equality, justice, solidarity, and fraternity on the one hand and the highs of sporting achievement, familial bonds, and togetherness on the other. The film, which premiered recently at the ongoing Locarno Film Festival, is Diaz’s tribute of sorts to his revolutionary mother, who was part of the armed struggle to bring about a political, economic, and social transformation in Guatemala. For such dedicated activists “there is often no room to fulfil their roles as parents”, writes Diaz in his director’s note.
His protagonist Maria (Berenice Bejo) doesn’t either. Facing death threats at home, the rebel flees to Mexico leaving behind an infant son in the care of her mother. Ten years later, when Marco (Matheo Labbe) comes to live .