Bundesliga

If we were not aware of the servitude and pettiness that usually govern the international circulation of cinema, we would be surprised by the almost null impact that a film like Bundesliga has had on renow- ned festivals and publications. Because Tatsunari Ota’s film is a miracle: a piece that denies all clichés about first works thanks to its precise and exquisite construction, and to its story, a minimal tale with a strong emotional trace on maturity, memories, longings and lost illusions. Bundesliga, without fuss and in barely an hour, transcends its traditional narrative anecdote through a sinuous treatment of space and a surprising temporary game to place us in a univer- se as ubiquitous as melancholic. Bundesliga, with its calculated narrative grounds, with its measured and absorbing long shots, exhibits the quality which any film buff goes crazy for: magic. GABRIEL DOMÉNECH