(Allied POWs vs. the German National Team in WWII. Talk about complicated…)
CAST: Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max Von Sydow, Pele, Bobby Moore, Carole Laure.
DIRECTOR: John Huston
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and some serious war-time soccer competitions straight ahead…
For Soccer Flick week, we’ve reviewed six films so far. While the plot and characters of these movies may be superficially different from one another, the common theme is the driving passion the characters have for the sport of soccer/football.
In BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, we had a heroine who had to surmount cultural and gender expectations to pursue her love of football. In GOAL!, we had an impoverished East Los Angeleno who crossed the Atlantic to make his mark in the Newcastle United club. In THE GAME OF THEIR LIVES, we had the true story of five Italian-Americans from St. Louis who fought their way onto the U.S. National Team and subsequently trounce the British Team at the 1950 World Cup.
Then we reviewed SHAOLIN SOCCER, which combined the unique grace and force found in both Kung Fu and soccer to create a one-of-a kind game experience. We then moved on to KICKING AND SCREAMING, an inferior Will Ferrell flick that became an average Soccer Flick with the help of two gifted Italian players. And our last review was THE CUP, a quietly breathtaking gem that told the exquisite tale of a group of monks in the Himalayas who don’t let their simple lifestyle keep them from indulging their passion for soccer.
Now, we turn to our latest review, which deals with a group of Allied prisoner-of-wars in World War II Germany who find themselves pitted against the German National Team at the orders of the German High Command. Things gets really complicated, though, when the POWs decide to use the soccer match as an opportunity to escape.
Most prominent among the prisoners are: (1) Captain Jack Colby (Michael Caine), a Brit officer who used to be a football star before the war; (2) Captain Robert Hatch (Sylvester Stallone), a fiery American officer determined to escape; and (3) Cpl Luis Fernandez (Pele), a South American enlisted troop who looks and plays a lot like super-footballer Pele. Oh, that’s right. Pele plays him. My bad.
Anyhow, the whole “POWs vs. Germans” thang gets going when kind-natured German officer Major Karl Von Steiner (Max Von Sydow) notices the prisoners engaging in a lively match in the prison camp. Turns out Von Steiner himself was an avid football player before the war, and approaches ringleader Colby about staging a match between his men and the German troop at an nearby army base. To ease morale, according to Von Steiner. “Wouldn’t it be better if nations could settle their differences on the football pitch?” asks the enlightened German. Preach, brother, preach.
Colby, not exactly in a position to say nein, agrees. Unfortunately, the German High Command hears about Von Steiner’s plans and takes the whole thing out of his hands. Next thing you know, the soccer match has been turned into a propaganda tool to show that POWs are not being mistreated. And they are no longer going to be playing against the local German army troops - but against the German National Team in Paris.
Kind of a step up, wouldn’t you say? Anyhow, faced with the prospect of being transported out of the prison camp, some of our POWs naturally start plotting an escape using the soccer match as an excuse. Hatch, for his part, has been trying to escape for months now, and knows that if he can get on the soccer team, he’s as good as gone. Colby, on the other hand, knows that Hatch is just interested in a “Get out of POW Camp Free” card, and does his best to keep him off the team. Especially with Hatch’s knack for playing the “American Way.” Which mean, I guess, crazy and explosive like a monkey on crack.
But can Colby resist for long, especially with his superiors breathing down his neck to use the match as a chance to escape? And especially since Hatch has contacts in Paris who can help them get away? But is it all going to be that easy? Won’t the German troops be closely guarding the team in Paris? Will the POWs even get the chance? What about Renee (Carole Laure), Hatch’s beautiful French contact? Will she get pulled into the fray? What about Colby’s promise to Von Steiner that there would be no escape attempt? Will Von Steiner regret the leap of faith he took for Colby, Hatch, and the rest of their gang? Or will he - GASP! - help them somehow?
Not telling. All I’ll say is I feel bad for Von Steiner. You try to give some dudes a break - and they try to fly the coop in return. Nice, guys. Very nice.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: I’ve mentioned in past reviews that I have a special affection for films from the 80’s and earlier decades. These movie told their stories in an old-fashioned way that valued a measured build-up that allowed the viewer to pulled into the rhythms of the plot and characters. The result: a substantial investment and interest in the events of the story - and the fates of the characters.
VICTORY uses this approach, as well as a classic three-act structure that effectively builds tension and suspense. The first act is concerned with limning the various characters in the Allied POW camp, as well as planting the seeds of the soccer match plot thread that will explode later on. The second act deals with the covert attempts of the prisoners to use the match in Paris as a chance to escape, as well as with the growing concerns of the German military that this might happen. Finally, the third act deals with the climactic showdown between the POWs and the German National Team in a Paris stadium. Also, the much-awaited escape takes shape here, and the fates of our various heroes are decided.
The cast is uniformly good and perfectly-suited to their roles. Michael Caine brings his trademark “no-bullshit” quality to the role of the very direct and stubborn Jack Colby. Caine, however, also effectively shows Colby’s unswerving dedication to the well-being of his men, which leads to his reluctance to partake in the escape attempt because the last thing he wants to do is endanger their lives. Caine displays this internal conflict through some expressive acting.
Stallone gets the showier role of the hot-tempered but also good-hearted American officer Robert Hatch. Initially, Hatch is only concerned with his escape, but as he becomes more and more involved in the football games, he learns the value of being on a team. In the end, he fights just as much for his friends’ survival as his own. Stallone has always been underrated as an actor, but he shines in VICTORY. Especially in a scene where the team must make a difficult choice: escape - or go back to the football field and beat the German National Team to prove a point?
The famed Brazilian soccer player, Pele, does reasonably well with his role of Cpl Luis Fernandez. He shines brightest, though, on the soccer field. Which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Still, Pele acquits himself well in his dramatic scenes with his co-stars, even if he doesn’t quite match them. Meanwhile, Carole Laure does well in her small role of Renee, the Parisienne who risks her life to help Hatch and his friends.
The best performance in VICTORY, though, comes from one of my favorite actors ever: Max Von Sydow, who plays the conflicted and decent German officer Karl Von Steiner. Von Sydow has always excelled at playing complex characters, and hinting at hidden levels beneath cool exteriors and Von Steiner is no different. This is a guy who is bewildered at the war going around him. It’s this confusion that drives him to reach out to the POWs in act of generosity by suggesting the match between the POWs and Germany. It’s a testament to the sympathy that Von Steiner generates in us that we are just as concerned for him as we are for the POWs. After all, if the POWs escapes, Von Steiner’s career (and life?) is on the line.
In the end, VICTORY is a rewarding and exciting film that takes the adrenaline charge of an escape attempt, blends it with the kinetic speed of soccer, and knocks one into the net.
Some folks may not be able to swallow the fact that these POWs choose to finish the game instead of escaping earlier, but isn’t that what soccer is about? Fighting to the finish?
