''Cup Final'' (, ) is a 1991 Israeli film set during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon by Israel and the

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...

. Upon its release, the film participated in the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

and the Valencia Film Festival.

Plot

A young Israeli soldier, Cohen, is kidnapped by a group of

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

fighters who hold him as a

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

during the conflict. The

happens to be on during the invasion, and their mutual love of

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, and in particular the

Italy national football team The Italy national football team () has represented Italy in men's international Association football, football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for fo ...

, helps break down the barriers of nationalism and the historical baggage that the two bring. A kind of alliance is forged between the two men. Their relationship heads for a tragic ending as the Italian team, along with the goal scoring

Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi (; 23 September 1956 – 9 December 2020) was an Italian professional association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He led Italy national football team, Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup t ...

, make their march toward winning the 1982 FIFA World Cup Final.

Reception

Writing in The Washington Post,

Hal Hinson Hal Hinson is an American film critic who wrote for ''The Washington Post'' from 1987 to 1997. As of July 2015 he has 887 reviews collected on the website Rotten Tomatoes. Hinson has been cited as a critic who is unpopular with his fellow criti ...

called ''Cup Final'' "a powerful film, and yet one of the most unassuming great movies ever made". Hanson comments on the relationship between the Cohen and Ziad (the Palestinian commander) as "beautifully mismatched" and that the film's central idea that the men who fight wars would "otherwise be hanging over each other's backyard fence as true friends" was stirringly presented.

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

, in The New York Times, focuses on the similarity between Ziad and Cohen's loyalties to their team (Italy) and their equally fervent soldierly loyalties to Palestine and Israel. Holden writes that, while the film is sometimes "ham-fisted" in its eagerness to make that point, it succeeds in its depictions of warfare, the media, and in the work of the two main actors, Moshe Ivgi. who plays Cohen, the kidnapped Israeli soldier, and Muhamad Bacri, who plays Ziad, the PLO commander.

Festivals

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

(20 February 1992) * 17th Moscow International Film Festival (1991)

References

External links

* 1990s Hebrew-language films 1991 films 1982 FIFA World Cup Israeli drama films Italy at the 1982 FIFA World Cup 1990s road movies Films directed by Eran Riklis Films about the Israel Defense Forces Films set in the 1980s Israeli–Lebanese conflict films Israeli–Palestinian conflict films {{war-film-stub

Plot

Reception

Festivals

See also

References

External links