Men in the Arena (2017)
★★ — Men in the Arena (2017)
Men in the Arena is a 2017 documentary from director J.R. Biersmith, produced through the small independent outfit 2728 Pictures, and filmed across Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and the United States. Biersmith worked in documentary and short-form content before this feature, and the film represents a modest but earnest attempt to capture life inside one of the world's most isolated footballing nations. Somalia had been without a functioning government for the better part of two decades by the time filming took place, with Al-Shabaab controlling large portions of the country and the national football programme operating under conditions most international sides could barely imagine. The film arrives during a period of renewed documentary interest in sport as a vehicle for stories about displacement, identity and survival.
A-Z World Movie Tour. Djibouti This is a documentary about 2 men in their late teens who play for the Somali national team. They both suffer hardships mostly as a result of the poverty and oppression in Somalia. It's a pretty surface level I feel. Because of the fear of reprisals from Al Shabab, (the radical islamists who control most of Somalia) nobody cares to speak about how they actually feel about everything and you can tell. Needed more depth really but it was relatively interesting.
Rating: ★★ | Year: 2017 | Watched: 2025-06-10
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