DVD Review: Fulboy

Fulboy is a documentary that captures the lives of soccer players off the field. Filmmaker Martín Farina dedicates it to his brother Tomás, who is one of the players depicted in the film, and the reason Martín was allowed such access to the players. He inserts himself into the film at various points as narrator, at the beginning telling us, “To think that I wanted to be a football player and I ended up making movies.” He introduces us to his brother Tomás, “a real football player,” and I can’t help but wonder if his admiration is tinged with just a bit of envy. But he tells us his intention is to show the things that aren’t shown on television – the locker rooms, the meetings and so on.

Because it’s put out by TLA Releasing, you might expect a lot of homoerotic content – and there are some shots of the players in the shower, and a shot of a player in purple briefs wrestling with another player in bed – but this documentary does not focus on sexual content at all. And it is interesting how the filmmaker deliberately stays away from images of the actual game (though there is a nice shot of children taunting players during a game, shouting that they should be playing cards instead of soccer – the camera stays close on them, not turning toward the game at all).

While showering, the players act macho, bragging about goals and so on. But you can’t help but speculate how much of an effect the presence of the camera has on the conversation. Do they really go on like that while showering? Maybe they do. And there is footage of them talking about being filmed, about how it’s real and not real, for it’s not the full reality. But of course it isn’t. No one expects a documentary to be the full reality of a subject. And for a while, the subject of this film isn’t football at all; the subject of the film is the film itself. And in a way that’s interesting, that these soccer players discuss the nature of film, and how it represents or distorts reality. And this film in particular certainly shapes its reality, in that it uses lots of extreme close-ups of actions, so that our focus is concentrated, and we aren’t allowed to take in the surroundings and choose what to focus on. Some of those close-up images are really interesting, and well-framed.

But of course the players do talk about the game. One of the players speaks directly to the camera about the sacrifices that professional athletes make, the hard work that goes into their careers, which he believes most people aren’t aware of. And he asks us directly to value what they do, because it’s difficult. The players also talk about finding new teams to play for, and about contracts and so on. And there is some interesting footage of the players listening to a life insurance pitch.

But at times, the filmmaker seems to treat his subject more seriously than it perhaps deserves. At one point, he says: “The hotel where the players get together is also a prison. While the players have to stay inside together, in the neighboring building, there are construction workers enjoying the open air.” Enjoying the open air? I’m sure those construction workers have a much different perspective on that. Plus, are the players really held in the hotels against their wills? I don’t think so. But that would certainly be interesting if it were the case.

Special Features

The DVD includes Tomás The Defender, a short film without any dialogue. It is a series of images of the filmmaker’s brother, set to music. Shots of him showering and shots of him in his underwear have me wondering just how far Martín’s interest in his brother goes. The DVD also includes the film’s trailer.

Fulboy was directed by Martín Farina, and was released on DVD on September 22, 2015 through TLA Releasing. It is presented in its original Spanish, with English subtitles.