Substitute

While the mesmerising ‘Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait’ turned star French midfielder into cosmic metaphor, filmmaker Fred Poulet seized one of ZZ’s World Cup teammates as a portal into the purgatorial world of the benchwarmer. But this compelling premise – overlooked midfield sub Vikash Dhorasoo armed with a Super-8 camera and a head full of angst – is brickwalled by tournament security and its makers’ complete lack of imagination. Instead of an intimate study of betrayal, frustration and alienation, we get a bad home-video of fuzzy hotel corridors, guard dogs and doleful introspection. Like Dhorasoo, we’re left watching from the sidelines.