The Leitrim Mobile Cinema rolled into Carrick-on-Shannon with Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, more of a high-art film than a soccer documentary. I have to admit that I had never heard of Zidane until I watched the World Cup when we first moved to Ireland and watched him head-butt an opponent (apparently his lowest moment in a stellar career) leading to his ejection from the match and out of a crucial role in penalty kicks that decided the game.

To set the stage, the man running the cinema offered us a chance NOT to see the film, telling us it was horribly boring. We persisted and were the only people to make it through the entire feature. 17 cameras focused on Zidane only and played back the entire match in real time. I appreciate the unique perspective and vision. The presentation exposed things that you would never see otherwise, like how Zidane paces himself and his meditative habit of dragging his toes along the ground. On the whole it didn’t hold together for me and is better suited for an art gallery than a theatre. In retrospect, I liked the film more than I am letting on and certainly applaud the original take on a “sports film” and the fact that they used the medium well.