If you are the first, you are the first. If you are the second, you are nothing. In Belgium, there is a football club called the Royal Charleroi Sporting Club, from Charleroi, but fans often call it the Zebras because of the form in which the club plays.
Zebra stripes are too multifaceted to be considered in a cut of only black or white stripes.
In general, if you go from afar, it is worth noting that African footballers have always rushed, are eager and will rush to Europe in order to find hope for a better life, help their relatives, and at least just escape from the hopeless monotony of hot African everyday life. Football gave the opportunity to play in Europe completely mythical characters who could not be footballers at all, but when the leadership of the conditional “Vardar” sang about the uniqueness of that guy, it was difficult to refuse. African footballers went to any tricks, up to hiding their age, only to leave the continent to “fed” Europe. Joseph Minala, by the way, would be a prime example of such dissonance. The debate about his age does not seem to be over.
But let’s move on to the painting. Jose is a scout, a man whose task is to find among the huge mass of football players Abidjan is not yet cut diamond, which will later make its future owners very rich. And among a huge number of people whose dream is any club in Europe, he finds an Ivorian with a typical name for this country - Yaya Kone. And Jose wants to take him to Europe, sending him to the Charleroi club to help himself and get the guy out of nowhere.
Zebra stripes are a real drama in its full manifestation. In the noted genres, there is a comedy, but the situation shown in the film is never comedic. In fact, this is the standard, black prose of life. It’s a story about aspirations for the better, about opportunities that you don’t know how to use at all, and maybe you don’t know that you have them, and a white man in this regard can act as a catalyst that will turn your life around. But where do these turns lead? What if there's a cliff? What happens if you don’t try?
Despite the seemingly rather standard history of the African athlete, Benoit Mariage raises questions that, in general, float on the surface, but about which it is not customary to keep silent, about which, rather, they have simply forgotten. Africa's eternal poverty. It's not a comedy. This is the tragedy of the continent, to say the least. People who live with hope are no longer even on themselves, but on some visiting tourers who may push your boat from the sidelines of life into a dense stream of large ships. It's like a big ship could just crash a small boat. For a lifeboat, even participation in a large current sometimes becomes more important than its small backwater, which, in addition, can dry up.
And it seems that here a simple film about a football hunter turns out to be associated with the game of millions only with thin threads, and secondary characters come out on the main screen, controlled by experienced puppeteers, alternately throwing threads to each other. Thus, even though the leading role was played by the notorious Benoit Poulward, he, despite the seeming primacy in the frame, was not the main character of this story. In general, Mariage turned out to be a very balanced film, in which all the constituent elements are equally important, regardless of whether it is the characters or the environment.
Here such unobtrusiveness is collected so harmoniously that it does not allow to break away from the film. The truth is broken by the equally ridiculous and absurd penultimate part of the picture. It is almost impossible to believe this, but life often presents more ridiculous things, so let us leave this moment on the conscience of the creator, because thanks to him, the ending of the film cuts through the living, showing that a newspaper leaflet can be the greatest achievement and be an expensive memory.
And given that the film is still inextricably linked with football, the film Mariage quite clearly reflects the postulate of Bill Shankly, despite the fact that the main emphasis on it is not made.
Some people think that football is a matter of life and death; I am completely disappointed in their attitude. They are wrong: football is much, much more important.
7 out of 10