Make no mistake: the “biographical documentary” genre, as it has recently been done with mini-series like Harry und Meghan, Arnold or Messi celebrates a high phase often has little to do with what is conventionally understood as a documentary film. Rather, they are celebrity portraits that are created in close cooperation with the celebrities and in which the respective directors, as pure contractors, hardly ever engage critically with the people portrayed.Fisher Stevens, who directed the four-part Netflix documentary Beckham is responsible (and incidentally as an actor in the role of the slimy press spokesman Hugo in Succession gained notoriety), made no secret of his “temporary worker status” in the promotional interviews at the start of the series: he was repeatedly heard saying that he had not known Beckham personally before. He only became a football fan after his heyday and was also a supporter of Liverpool FC and not of Beckham’s Manchester United. Leonardo Di Caprio – with the Stevens 2016 environmental documentary Before the Flood – I called him to convince him of the job. Name-dropping aside, Stevens can afford to emphasize his own initial lack of interest because it doesn’t show in the final product. On the contrary, Beckham captivates and touches in a way that you hardly expect from a footballer portrait; The series became an instant hit for Netflix, which also means that it appeals to both fans and those who have little interest in football. The latter can be attributed entirely to Stevens’ storytelling skills. You can tell from the episodes that the director always discovered something that surprised or amazed him. Not least the fact that David Beckham really seems to be a pretty likeable guy. In the very first episode, Stevens brings together something very well known and something rather unknown about his star: On the one hand, there is the famous shot from the halfway line with which he ball into the goal in an awe-inspiring long curve – “Bend It Like Beckham!” – and on the other hand, the now 48-year-old, in full beekeeper’s gear, looking after his bees. From a purely formal perspective, director Stevens doesn’t invent anything new here when he mixes footage from today, taken during several visits to the Beckhams’ country estate in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, with archive footage.
Victoria Beckham on her and David Beckham’s humble working-class origins
In addition to David and Victoria Beckham, Stevens was also able to speak to David’s parents and sister, as well as various teammates such as Gary Neville, coaches such as Alex Ferguson and Fabio Capello, and major international stars such as Eric Cantona and the Brazilian Ronaldo. There are enough recordings of the active footballer, especially since father Beckham apparently manically followed his son with the video camera from an early age; At one point he reports on over 1,400 games that he recorded himself. But what makes it all special is Stevens’ feeling for certain moments and contexts. A small scene from the documentary has already gone viral, in which Victoria Beckham tells the camera in the living room that she and David have a simple working-class background in common. From the doorway you can hear David protesting loudly that she should be honest and name the make of the car in which her father drove her to school. It is only with hesitation that Victoria finally admits that it was a Rolls-Royce. Other moments also captivate with less “populist” punchlines. It’s often the little things that reveal a lot: the basic gesture with which the old receptionist at Manchester United reveals nothing, absolutely nothing, of insider knowledge. Or the melancholy that appears on the faces of former professional players when they look at the old recordings – Stevens films them up close using a special process. Or the mistrust in the media, which has become deeply embedded in Victoria Beckham’s gestures as a result of many negative experiences: “Record me stroking the dog, then I’ll come across as human.”Embedded media content
2023-11-10 03:03:15
#Netflix #series #Beckham #football #star #beekeeper #husband
