Machan

A comic story of mismatched losers who  lift themselves out of the poverty trap by learning a new and surprising skill… Sound familar? It should: Uberto Pasolini produced ‘The Full Monty’ and makes his directing debut with this strikingly similar, true tale of the first Sri Lankan National Handball Team.

When their visa application to Germany is rejected, Stanley and Manoj seem destined to spend their lives hustling on the streets of Colombo. Until Stanley stumbles across a bizarre ad: the German Handball Association is seeking teams to attend the world championships in Bavaria. The only catch: no one in Sri Lanka has heard of the game.

With its twinkly underdog charm sugarcoating a surprisingly direct  indictment of global immigration policy, ‘Machan’ seems eager to evade the lazy feelgood trap, but a last-act stumble into sports-triumph territory undermines Pasolini’s clear affinity – and sympathy– for his subject.