It seems to be a comedy, but at the same time a drama about how four auto mechanics with a surprisingly drunk and creepy appearance as a selection (here the casting is generally beautiful, reminded me fiercely of my favorite Finnish “Pretty Kind Man”, where everyone is ugly in general) in order not to give up their auto workshop for debts run a marathon, during which the organizer of all this madness, while suffering from cancer, which almost no one knows, suddenly dies. Actors of the most colorful obscenity, the comedy of positions is sometimes predictable, but in general amusing, mainstream tolerance for hardworking and decent Arabs and a pretty gay man does not strain, but only shades the canvas of events, the finale upsets the death of the main character, but also pleases a certain degree of spirituality of the motivational component. In general, a good tragicomedy, where at first there is a lot of comedy, and then drama and tragedy, and which all the actors convey, if not reliably, then convincingly enough, and so that the characters begin to empathize and think about their lives. Anyway, very, very good. All light legs
A friend of mine says, I don't go to actors, I go to directors. I think I would agree with you.
But what about a movie like this? Where neither the names nor even the photos of the actors tell us absolutely nothing! The only unambiguous definition that can be given to this Movie is a national affiliation: Dutch cinema. Well, it can be even wider, for the very uninitiated: European. So what? How do you get the viewer to watch? What to do with this unknown, without embellishment and advertising “Marathon”?
My answer after watching is clear: Watch! And to watch for everyone!
So, if you still decided, forgetting about your ambitious plans - once again review the retrospective of one of the "cult" directors - then, believe me, you will not remain indifferent. You'll love it! Because this movie is real, it's well shot, played, done. And the fewer people we are told about, the more significant and weighty the meaning of the film narrative. After all, there are no Super-Heroes among us, all of us - Chekhov and Gogol characters - we are lazy, we are funny, often illogical and ridiculous in our actions and deeds, we often delude ourselves and are too trusting and attached to our loved ones. We are completely intolerant in our colorful, diverse and diverse society. And life does not cease to give us new lessons, sometimes painfully clicking on the nose.
And so in this garage, where four buddies work - with different personal situations, but who are rallied: idleness, maps, beer and an endless series of jokes and anecdotes about those who "came in," but at the same time - working for all of them combined. And these jokes - with a great sense of their own superiority! But everything flows and changes, and now the subject of your jokes and banter yesterday is your guru today. And in order for the heroes of the film to stay afloat, somehow make ends meet, and for some of them just survive - you just need to believe him, your teacher and coach, believe in yourself - and you will win! In the marathon, in the race for the present and the future, in the championship in such a sport as "Life".
A great film about the will to win, about the passionate desire to live and be! To be yourself, to be someone important and irreplaceable for others - to be a friend, a father, a son, a loved one and the only one.
Thank you to the Dutch Cinema for this manifesto - for this marathon, for this race before we meet the finishing ribbon. To live and to be!
In a small private car shop in Rotterdam, four careless Dutch people work. But they work – that is, perhaps, loudly said. If anyone works here, it's mostly Egyptian Yusuf. And his senior colleagues mainly drink beer, play cards, and smoke cigarettes in the endless smoke breaks of the working day. Why kill yourself? There are few orders, and those that are, will not run into the forest. In general, a typical picture of unconscious life and idle existence on the verge of complete lack of will and insanity.
And then one day it is quite by chance discovered that the boss, and a mutual friend, for several months did not pay for the auto repair shop taxes, which were collected by 40 thousand euros. For this reason, the company is in danger of bankruptcy. But in the controversy of mutual disputes, it suddenly turns out that the amount of debt can be “easily earned”. You just have to run a local marathon. Especially since Yusuf knows how to do this, since he himself used to run this distance.
Some problem is that all grief-mechanics are already under fifty, and everyone hangs (just not between the legs) beer tummy of varying degrees of neglect. And in general, they do not like to once again even move a finger, let alone feet. And yet the decision to take part in the race is taken – too tempting free sponsorship money, and no one wants to lose such a job. And only here it becomes known that you will have to run more than forty kilometers, and this is “even by car to go for a long time.” But since the carefree future of everyone is at stake, the four decides to agree to this almost scam.
It would be tempting to say that the Dutch made another proletarian comedy in the style of “Male striptease”. That picture at the end of the last century set the vector for a whole direction of films shot in an optimistic manner and telling about such an important and painful social problem as the threat of unemployment. In this case, it can lead to the loss of a consumer paradise with all the benefits that flow from it. In today’s world, sinking ever deeper into the swamp of consumption, this topic will not soon become an anachronism, if ever.
Without completely ignoring the achievements of civilization, this film, meanwhile, advocates a healthy lifestyle, which, judging by what is shown here, has long been smoked and impregnated by Dutch inhabitants. At least until the marathon itself begins. And then the story, immersed in the epicenter of this multi-thousand race, suddenly acquires a new sound and ceases to be like a farce.
Seeing the streets of Rotterdam, crowded with real runners, I was not jokingly excited by the realization of the depressing fact that I myself had never run more than ten kilometers at once. And running a marathon is even cooler than parachuting, although not as necessary as “planting a house, giving birth to a tree and building a baby.” And so I watch as barely rearranging legs auto mechanics and next to them hundreds of the same Dutch men and women still get to the finish line (some four hours or more later), and I think: “What is it like now all my life and knock on the keyboard, while some run 42 km 195 m?” And if it were not for my innate optimism, which, as always in time, makes a strong argument: "Rejoice that you are tapping on the keyboard, and not on compatriots," then I would cry with bitter tears.
The scene where thousands of spectators and, in fact, the whole city, deprived of the usual transport communications, waits until the last runner reaches the finish line, makes a strong impression. Without false pathos, I will say: in these moments you literally see the same peaceful warrior awakening in a person who sleeps in most of us, even without even knowing about his presence. I remembered in the course of the famous race on 10 thousand meters of athletics match of the USA-USSR in 1959, where the American Sot and the Estonian Pärnakivi, becoming victims of 35-gauge heat, nevertheless, of the last forces fought at a distance, almost giving up. If you do not know what happened there, you can see the vicissitudes of their struggle with themselves in the equally famous film by Elem Klimov “Sport, sport, sport”.
In short, the little-known "Marathon" from the Netherlands (by the way, translated and voiced for Internet users by our Bocharik), turned out to be an extremely inspiring film, strengthening the idea that the strength of spirit can work real miracles.
The film begins and ends with glorious musical games, quite energetic and non-trivial. I also liked the ending and beginning of the film as much as the content in general. The film is definitely from the category of cute and soulful with the only caveat that an integral part of these characteristics is to follow standards, the absence of author’s supertasks and ready to follow the script clichés proven over the years.
Here's Cassavetes' great male friendship film Husbands, built on halftones, improvisations with long monotonous scenes and no clear dramatic structure. “Marathon” is quite a traditional melodrama about male friendship and finding a second breath in old age. What separately did not like – the use of Mozart and Sinatra, already very dragged, the entire installation of the marathon with the parallel inclusion of the son of the hero and his opponent on the bet, tearful embrace with the Egyptian, the transfer of sports uniforms. And, of course, the main dramatic source of tears since at least the “Love Story” is somewhat vicious.
Once again: a simple and good movie without super-tasks, definitely an attraction for television viewing with a couple of funny lines, moderate incorrectness (a couple of lines to the Egyptian are balanced by the adoption of a black child plus a pretty gay man). In scale (but not theme) close to our "White Dews". Not a bad movie either.
2012. Look at them, they'll never make it to the end of the marathon.
Some old friends. Old or old, it's hard to tell. Life is all behind us somewhere. Secure existence now, but they hardly dreamed of it. Everyone has challenges ahead. It's a tough test, but everyone will.
One day, somehow accidentally and unobtrusively, the topic came up - running a marathon in Amsterdam. That's it. We had a serious argument. This is how their lives have changed.
Previously, they were “bald shrimp”, and in their brains, instead of brains, “octopuses” lived. And now – these are purposeful guys. there was a goal – there was enthusiasm.
Somehow, the film will suddenly go from an easy and vulgar comedy to a serious world outlook sketch. The higher the price of the painting. A beautiful combination of caustic humor and questions of being.
In 2012, Haneke’s Love became the European triumphant. I don't like this dark movie. Personally, I prefer the Spanish “Snow White” and the Norwegian “Kon-Tiki”. But, if you approach from the side of social cinema, I think the movie about Marathon is much more positive. It is this tragicomedy that I would seriously promote - a film about life and strength of mind. If you like Gogol Bordello, then you will definitely like the picture.
In the end, I want to write down for a long time in a secret diary these strong and inspiring words said in the tape: during the marathon you determine who you really are. You turn asphalt into dust
The moral component of the film is quite popular, more than once dragged through many films and paintings. A person often has periods when the whole life and his environment seem to be complete shit... he feels at the bottom: in relationships he does not get along with, with work, total misunderstanding in the family, and health is not to hell! And from such a pile of problems it seems that everything is a dead end! And that's the biggest misconception! There's a way out and it's easy! Set yourself a sky-high goal, let it seem unattainable at first, let a voice sound in your head: “Where are you going?” It's not for you, you can't! Open a beer, lie down on a soft couch, sleep and it will pass! Let even your best friends twirl your head when you share this dream with them. Here the main thing is not to listen to anyone and find the strength to take the first step, albeit insignificantly small, but a step towards it! And even if the goal turned out to be unbearable and you left the race ... there is nothing terrible in this, you have already extricated yourself from the past swamp, pulled yourself out of the deadly quagmire ... After all, you walked, taking the most difficult steps over and over again. And every step, every inch of the way is a fierce struggle, a struggle with yourself! And in this struggle, your true character is born!
As for the differences of this film from many similar, it is that the cast can not be called media, on these faces the viewer is unlikely to bite and seed in the cinema. Ordinary men under 50 years old with bloated faces from drunkenness, smoked voices, rare remnants of hair and hands up to the elbow stinking with motor oil, loving beer, cards and vulgar humor - a kind of hard worker ordinary. And of course, the minor ending of the film, digs out in the subconscious a sense of respect and admiration for the most powerful, natural weapon of man - his will!
P.S. The movie is good, if you do not care that the main roles are not from the cover!
I watched the movie when I started running. He describes in detail the everyday life of a marathoner. When you become a runner, everything changes around you. But when you become a marathon runner, you change the world around you. Your loved ones are getting angry that you spend so much time on this seemingly useless business. People don't understand you: How come? He's running these stupid marathons!
And so time passes, you run, you don't give up, you don't listen to any of the people who were against what you do. You work for what you want to get closer to, for your achievement. And slowly, as they say in the film, “fighting with every centimeter” and “turning the asphalt to dust”, you achieve your goal, and at the same time, the recognition of your family, friends, colleagues, who previously did not even know that the marathon is a test of the character and will of a person. And this test changes it.
That's what happened to our heroes. Ordinary workers of the auto shop, who, as described in the description of “four beer and cigarette-loving friends”, did not buckle under the blows of fate, managed to achieve their goal. Who would have thought that behind the smoky lungs and saggy beer bellies there is so much courage! There were doubts, mistakes, but did that stop these four friends? No, it didn’t stop them, it changed them and their outlook on life. Everyone changed their lives and showed that they could do more. This is due to their coach, Yusuf, who supported Gere and the others throughout the training and even the marathon itself. He managed in just six months to make 4 absolutely non-running "disabled" quite good runners. It felt the desire with which Yusuf trained his wards, because he was once a long-distance runner.
In my opinion, the film is a real masterpiece. It has both humor and drama. And most importantly, an idea. After watching, I want to run a marathon myself.