Stars: Michael Fassbender, Kaimana, Rachel House, Oscar Kightley, David Fane, Beulah Koale, Will Arnett, Elisabeth Moss, Uli Latukefu, Chris Alosio, Lehi Makisi Falepapalangi, Rhys Darby | Written by Taika Waititi, Iain Morris | Directed by Taika Waititi
Released in 2014, Next Goal Wins was a phenomenal documentary from directors Mike Brett and Steve Jamison which followed the American Samoa football team as they attempted to persevere following a historic 31-0 loss to Australia. Much in the vein of Grey Gardens, Man On Wire, and Marwencol, the acclaimed documentary has been dramatised into a feature film, this time by Taika Waititi and The Inbetweeners co-creator Iain Morris.
Next Goal Wins focuses on Dutch American coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), whose only option to evade being fired is to coach the American Samoa team. As he arrives with a bad attitude and a drinking problem, it soon dawns on Thomas that he may be able...
Released in 2014, Next Goal Wins was a phenomenal documentary from directors Mike Brett and Steve Jamison which followed the American Samoa football team as they attempted to persevere following a historic 31-0 loss to Australia. Much in the vein of Grey Gardens, Man On Wire, and Marwencol, the acclaimed documentary has been dramatised into a feature film, this time by Taika Waititi and The Inbetweeners co-creator Iain Morris.
Next Goal Wins focuses on Dutch American coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), whose only option to evade being fired is to coach the American Samoa team. As he arrives with a bad attitude and a drinking problem, it soon dawns on Thomas that he may be able...
- 4/10/2024
- by James Rodrigues
- Nerdly
Any other director would have probably made a typical “white savior” story out of the American Samoa football team’s incredible win against Tonga during the FIFA World Cup qualifiers back in 2011, but thanks to both his Indigenous roots and his directorial skill, Taika Waititi has managed to avoid that in Next Goal Wins. However, only someone like Waititi, who has a penchant for telling strange but very powerful “humane” stories, would choose a topic like this. The “white savior” here is football coach Thomas Rongen, who made it happen for the American Samoans. Michael Fassbender plays the part with the utmost earnestness, but Waititi makes sure that the film remains about the Samoan people, the culture, and their achievements. Next Goal Wins does have all the usual sports film clichés, but Taika has infused it with his signature style of humour. The result is not exactly promising like his earlier films,...
- 1/18/2024
- by Rohitavra Majumdar
- Film Fugitives
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Kaimana, Rachel House, Oscar Kightley, David Fane, Beulah Koale, Will Arnett, Elisabeth Moss, Uli Latukefu, Chris Alosio, Lehi Makisi Falepapalangi, Rhys Darby | Written by Taika Waititi, Iain Morris | Directed by Taika Waititi
Released in 2014, Next Goal Wins was a phenomenal documentary from directors Mike Brett and Steve Jamison which followed the American Samoa football team as they attempted to persevere following a historic 31-0 loss to Australia. Much in the vein of Grey Gardens, Man On Wire, and Marwencol, the acclaimed documentary has been dramatised into a feature film, this time by Taika Waititi and The Inbetweeners co-creator Iain Morris.
Next Goal Wins focuses on Dutch American coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), whose only option to evade being fired is to coach the American Samoa team. As he arrives with a bad attitude and a drinking problem, it soon dawns on Thomas that he may be able...
Released in 2014, Next Goal Wins was a phenomenal documentary from directors Mike Brett and Steve Jamison which followed the American Samoa football team as they attempted to persevere following a historic 31-0 loss to Australia. Much in the vein of Grey Gardens, Man On Wire, and Marwencol, the acclaimed documentary has been dramatised into a feature film, this time by Taika Waititi and The Inbetweeners co-creator Iain Morris.
Next Goal Wins focuses on Dutch American coach Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender), whose only option to evade being fired is to coach the American Samoa team. As he arrives with a bad attitude and a drinking problem, it soon dawns on Thomas that he may be able...
- 12/19/2023
- by James Rodrigues
- Nerdly
With the Taika Waititi-directed feature-film version of this story coming to cinemas soon, here’s our review of the original 2014 documentary of the same name, Next Goal Wins from directors Mike Brett and Steve Jamison.
In 2001, American Samoa made history by receiving what was then the worst loss in football history during a qualifying match for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. After losing 31-0 to Australia, American Samoa were dubbed the World’s Worst Team and were dogged by defeat ever since. While many would have used such demoralizing news to poke fun at the team, directors Mike Brett and Steve Jamison crafted a documentary to celebrate instead how the team continues to play despite such defeats.
At the time, Football was a relatively new sport to American Samoa which was getting bigger. As such, the team contained no professional footballers and relied on the players to partake for free,...
In 2001, American Samoa made history by receiving what was then the worst loss in football history during a qualifying match for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. After losing 31-0 to Australia, American Samoa were dubbed the World’s Worst Team and were dogged by defeat ever since. While many would have used such demoralizing news to poke fun at the team, directors Mike Brett and Steve Jamison crafted a documentary to celebrate instead how the team continues to play despite such defeats.
At the time, Football was a relatively new sport to American Samoa which was getting bigger. As such, the team contained no professional footballers and relied on the players to partake for free,...
- 12/6/2023
- by James Rodrigues
- Nerdly
Michael Fassbender (center) in Next Goal WinsPhoto: Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Searchlight Pictures
The marketing for Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins promotes the film as an underdog sports comedy about an ill-fated South Pacific soccer team, full of the highs and mostly lows of a struggling squad trying to make good.
The marketing for Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins promotes the film as an underdog sports comedy about an ill-fated South Pacific soccer team, full of the highs and mostly lows of a struggling squad trying to make good.
- 11/17/2023
- by Justin Lowe
- avclub.com
One can’t say that writer-director Taika Waititi doesn’t do an efficient job at telling us just what kind of experience Next Goal Wins is going to be right from the outset. After all the studio logos, the very first image we see is of Taika himself, playing an American Samoan priest, explains to the audience the tale of the most embarrassing defeat ever to occur on a soccer pitch: a match from April 11, 2001 when Australia beat American Samoa 31-0.
The footage of that match starts both Waititi’s film and the 2014 documentary of the same name by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison that it’s based on. And it’s a perfect way to kick-start a movie about a bunch of loveable losers struggling for the meager goal of scoring a single point in literally any game. The cherry on top of it all is the darkly hilarious...
The footage of that match starts both Waititi’s film and the 2014 documentary of the same name by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison that it’s based on. And it’s a perfect way to kick-start a movie about a bunch of loveable losers struggling for the meager goal of scoring a single point in literally any game. The cherry on top of it all is the darkly hilarious...
- 11/15/2023
- by Justin Clark
- Slant Magazine
Does it count as a white savior movie if the white character is the one who needs saving? In “Next Goal Wins,” the world’s top-grossing indigenous director, Taika Waititi, retells the story of how American Samoa went from having the world’s worst soccer team to, well, not the worst. While a white man was involved, the movie — which suggests how a film like “Cool Runnings” might be made with 30 years’ more cultural enlightenment — is mostly about how their coach (Michael Fassbender) needs an attitude adjustment. Come to think of it, that’s essentially the formula for most white savior movies.
In 2001, the American Samoa soccer team set a world record. They lost the World Cup Qualification game 31-0. Apparently, they only got worse from there. Enter Fassbender’s character, Thomas Rongen, a hothead with an alcohol problem and an emotional backstory which the movie keeps up its sleeve...
In 2001, the American Samoa soccer team set a world record. They lost the World Cup Qualification game 31-0. Apparently, they only got worse from there. Enter Fassbender’s character, Thomas Rongen, a hothead with an alcohol problem and an emotional backstory which the movie keeps up its sleeve...
- 9/11/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Fall film festivals are usually where we look for the more serious awards-bait pictures, but occasionally, as with tonight’s rousing world premiere of Taikia Waititi’s long-gestating soccer comedy Next Goal Wins, you get a real commercial crowd pleaser.
That is exactly what Waititi has delivered in adapting the 2014 documentary of the same time by filmmakers Mike Brett and Steve Jamison. Yes, this heartfelt movie fits right in with the well-overworked Hollywood sports movie formula — you know, the ragtag team that becomes triumphant against all odds. The triumph here wasn’t on a huge scale for the American Samoa men’s national team, which notoriously holds the record for the single-biggest loss in international football history when it lost a World Cup qualifier Australia 31-0 in 2001. The team remained at the bottom of the FIFA rankings until November 2011, when they finally got a goal, a victory itself, and beat...
That is exactly what Waititi has delivered in adapting the 2014 documentary of the same time by filmmakers Mike Brett and Steve Jamison. Yes, this heartfelt movie fits right in with the well-overworked Hollywood sports movie formula — you know, the ragtag team that becomes triumphant against all odds. The triumph here wasn’t on a huge scale for the American Samoa men’s national team, which notoriously holds the record for the single-biggest loss in international football history when it lost a World Cup qualifier Australia 31-0 in 2001. The team remained at the bottom of the FIFA rankings until November 2011, when they finally got a goal, a victory itself, and beat...
- 9/11/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
Review by Kathy Kaiser
In the new documentary Next Goal Wins, Mike Brett and Steve Jamison tell the real- life story of the American Samoan Men’s Soccer team, destined to be in the record books as “the worst team ever” in professional soccer, falling in 2001 to Australia 31 – 0. Wanting to change their course in history as the lowest ranked team in the FIFA standings, this Pacific Island team works year, after year, after year, trying to perfect their craft and change their destiny and their title as the “worst team to ever play the sport of professional Football/Soccer”
With the outcome of each game being just as the one before, American Samoa continues to feel the pain of loss and defeat. Wanting to change the plight that has plagued them for years, they decide as a team – and as a nation – to reach out to the Us Soccer Federation...
In the new documentary Next Goal Wins, Mike Brett and Steve Jamison tell the real- life story of the American Samoan Men’s Soccer team, destined to be in the record books as “the worst team ever” in professional soccer, falling in 2001 to Australia 31 – 0. Wanting to change their course in history as the lowest ranked team in the FIFA standings, this Pacific Island team works year, after year, after year, trying to perfect their craft and change their destiny and their title as the “worst team to ever play the sport of professional Football/Soccer”
With the outcome of each game being just as the one before, American Samoa continues to feel the pain of loss and defeat. Wanting to change the plight that has plagued them for years, they decide as a team – and as a nation – to reach out to the Us Soccer Federation...
- 9/23/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A documentary about what appears to be one of the worst football teams on the planet? Rob checks out Next Goal Wins...
Despite being far from a perfect documentary, Next Goal Wins demands attention by offering an insight to one of the most inspirational underdog stories in recent memory. For this surprisingly uplifting picture takes you inside the training camp for American Samoa’s national football team, as they desperately hunt for their first win in over 30 games.
From the opening montage, which compiles all the goals from their record-breaking 31-0 loss to Australia back in 2001, it’s immediately noticeable that these players are smiling and laughing despite their position at the very bottom of FIFA’s world rankings.
This against-all-odds optimism in the squad makes them an engaging bunch to spend time with: you’ll probably be fervently supporting them by the final act. Emotional engagement at the very...
Despite being far from a perfect documentary, Next Goal Wins demands attention by offering an insight to one of the most inspirational underdog stories in recent memory. For this surprisingly uplifting picture takes you inside the training camp for American Samoa’s national football team, as they desperately hunt for their first win in over 30 games.
From the opening montage, which compiles all the goals from their record-breaking 31-0 loss to Australia back in 2001, it’s immediately noticeable that these players are smiling and laughing despite their position at the very bottom of FIFA’s world rankings.
This against-all-odds optimism in the squad makes them an engaging bunch to spend time with: you’ll probably be fervently supporting them by the final act. Emotional engagement at the very...
- 5/9/2014
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
I could not possibly care less about football, and I fell hopelessly in love with this movie, and with the can-do amateur team it introduces us to. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing
I’m “biast” (con): not a fan of football/soccer
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
We film critics are a jaded, jaded lot. We tend, as a group, not to respond in overtly obvious emotional ways while watching a film. It’s not that we don’t care — it’s that we’ve seen it all and it’s much harder to take us by surprise. Could be, too, that the majority of critics are men, and many men will stifle sniffles, especially, quicker than women will. (I’ve sometimes been the only critic in a screening room who needs a Kleenex or three at the end of a film.) So when...
I’m “biast” (con): not a fan of football/soccer
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
We film critics are a jaded, jaded lot. We tend, as a group, not to respond in overtly obvious emotional ways while watching a film. It’s not that we don’t care — it’s that we’ve seen it all and it’s much harder to take us by surprise. Could be, too, that the majority of critics are men, and many men will stifle sniffles, especially, quicker than women will. (I’ve sometimes been the only critic in a screening room who needs a Kleenex or three at the end of a film.) So when...
- 5/7/2014
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Directors: Mike Brett, Steve Jamison; Starring: Thomas Rongen, Jaiyah Saelua, Nicky Salapu, Rawlston Masaniai; Running time: 98 mins; Certificate: 15
Right now we're at the business end of the 2013/14 football season - teams are battling it out to secure trophies, scrapping for every point, each margin of victory crucial with millions of pounds on the line. At the highest level where the sport is a cut-throat business, the beautiful game can be ugly.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is the story of the American Samoa national team. In 2001 they were pounded 31-0 by Australia and followed it up with 30 consecutive defeats, during which time even a goal in the 'for' column was a collector's item. They ranked rock bottom of the FIFA rankings going into qualification for the World Cup 2014.
Documentary Next Goal Wins charts American Samoa's qualification campaign from the perspective of the team's more outgoing characters and their Dutch coach,...
Right now we're at the business end of the 2013/14 football season - teams are battling it out to secure trophies, scrapping for every point, each margin of victory crucial with millions of pounds on the line. At the highest level where the sport is a cut-throat business, the beautiful game can be ugly.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is the story of the American Samoa national team. In 2001 they were pounded 31-0 by Australia and followed it up with 30 consecutive defeats, during which time even a goal in the 'for' column was a collector's item. They ranked rock bottom of the FIFA rankings going into qualification for the World Cup 2014.
Documentary Next Goal Wins charts American Samoa's qualification campaign from the perspective of the team's more outgoing characters and their Dutch coach,...
- 5/6/2014
- Digital Spy
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