Friday, January 27, 2012

The Two Escobars - 2010 - 4 Stars

Subject: The relationship between Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and murdered soccer star Andres Escobar
Director: Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist

Athletes have it nice in the United States - their benefactors are usually corporations or the owners of corporations. But what about poorer countries? What supports big-time sports there? The answer is typically a mix of shady money or a fierce nationalistic government. Even in Russia, it's the petrochemical oligarchs and Mafia leaders who run the Russian hockey league. The Two Escobars examines what can happen when sports, nationalism, and a complete disregard for humanity collide.

The Two Escobars scores some great interviews with Pablo's and Andres's relatives, as well as Andres's teammates. It's a sports documentary in name only, as it really examines how criminals and governments interact with one another in a corrupt country, with the Andres Escobar story as the backdrop. One can only imagine how terrifying it was to live in the early 1990s version of Colombia.

No comments:

Post a Comment