Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageBlue Moon Rising (2010)
Director: Stewart Sugg
Movie review
From Time Out London
It’s been 41 years since Manchester City last won the FA Cup and 34 years since they topped any kind of prominent league. But now, following a huge injection of cash in 2008 by the club’s new owner, Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the team’s been able to splash out on a number of star players – including Emmanuel Adebayor and Carlos Tévez – in the hope of landing the number one spot in the Premier League. One suspects a little of the Sheikh’s finances also went into the making of this reverential documentary, but let’s not digress.Putting aside one’s concerns about the commercialisation of sport and, more importantly, how easily a struggling football team can be elevated from the bottom of the pile to the top tier simply through an injection of vast amounts of dosh, Stewart Sugg’s film actually turns out to be well structured, competently edited, often very tense and strangely entertaining.
What the film illustrates best is the notion of what it means to be a football fan. It’s difficult for unbelievers like myself to grasp what drives the average supporter to heights of such emotional intensity but Sugg makes a fair fist of getting beneath the skin. Like any ardent supporter, the characters we follow absolutely live for the game. Little else matters. Every Man City match they watch seems to put them a step closer to the cardiac unit in A&E, especially those games played against their most bitter rivals, United. Their ups and downs make for a fascinating 90 minutes of viewing. Unless, of course, you’re a fan of Man U, Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal…
Author: Derek Adams
Time Out London Issue 2091: 16 – 22 September, 2010
Cast & crew
Director: Stewart Sugg
Genre(s): Documentaries
Duration: 90 mins
UK Release: Sep 17 2010
Top Stories
Ridley Scott interview
Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback
Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report
Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke
What do you think?
Post your review now