Escape to Victory

Just watched Escape to Victory last night, based on a 2020 episode of the Nessun Dorma football podcast. It occurred to me as I listened that I'd seen bits and pieces, and seen in-jokes and mentions of the movie for more than 20 years, but I'd never sat and watched the whole thing through. The closest I came was watching part of it on TV in a youth hostel in Geneva in 2001, with my friend Erick (who had no idea what was going on) and a Brazilian guy who was also staying there and laughed maniacally every time Pele came on screen. I don't even remember if it was dubbed into French or had subtitles.

So I rented it on my Apple TV, and watched it over the course of a couple of nights. The Nessun Dorma crowd were right when they said it felt like a 1950s war film, but it also still felt very late-70s/early-80s, even apart from the presence of Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine.

For those who don't know, it starts in a German POW camp during WWII, when the Allied inmates are challenged to a football match by the German guards. It goes from being a "friendly" to a propaganda exercise, on the part of the Germans, and an escape attempt on the part of the Allies. The real draw, however, is that it features a number of actual footballers, most notably Pele but also Bobby Moore and Ossie Ardiles, among quite a few others.

(I'm not going to bother with spoiler warnings because the film is over 40 years old, and we all know the Allies won the war) 

Another impressive thing about the movie, beyond the players who star in it, is the fact that it was directed by none other than John Huston. It was fairly late in his career, and not listed among the notable films in his filmography, so it's possible he was just hired on to direct, but it's still interesting that they got a director of that caliber for it.

Overall it's fairly disposable. The acting from the footballers isn't exactly on the level of Olivier, and Stallone turns in the kind of performance you'd expect. But there's something earthy and real about the camera work and sound, the kind of thing you only see in movies from that period, with the dialogue sounding weirdly naturalistic, almost like Robert Altman's MASH.

The acting from the other professionals isn't amazing either, though Caine is good as Colby, the working-class captain of the team who finds himself at odds with the more aristocratic British officers who insist on using his team as a means to escape. It's a little strange that he spends the first part of the movie fighting against the escape plans, including not wanting Stallone's character on his team because he worries his escape attempts will get the team in trouble. On the other hand, it's a nice touch that Colby convinces the Germans to let him have a few Eastern European players - the Germans resist at first, because the Poles and Czechs have no legal status (code for starving them to death), but eventually relent. Colby doesn't even use the Easterners, but they manage to escape at the end with the rest of the players.

I also like Max von Sydow, who plays the German officer who floats the idea of a match because he recognizes Colby; it's notable that he's the only Nazi who cheers when the Allied team equalizes, showing that he's more honorable than his fellow Wehrmacht officers. At the end, when the crowd is bundling the players out and disguising them, it's clear that he sees what's happening, and he gives a little smile of admiration.

The match, of course, is the centerpiece, and although it feels very choreographed, it's an affecting spectacle nonetheless. The filmmakers do a good job of ramping up the tension as the Germans go 4-0 up early on, while the crowd slowly comes to life when the Allied team makes its comeback. It's strangely affecting to hear a stadium full of actors belt out La Marseillaise without accompaniment, as well as seeing Ardiles and Pele score some magnificent goals against the Germans.

Overall, the movie probably holds up better if you care about football, and if you're familiar with the Ipswich Town team of that era (which provided most of the players) then you're on even more familiar ground. But it's a fun movie, and I couldn't get over the sight of Michael Caine conspiring with both Sylvester Stallone and Pele against the Nazis. I read that there's a remake in the works, supposedly, but I hope it never gets made, because it'll never hit the heights of this version.

RIP Bob Saget

Saw the news about Bob Saget passing away yesterday, and I've spent the last 24 hours seeing reactions and listening to Marc Maron's tribute episode containing each of Saget's three appearances on WTF. I won't pretend to have a large knowledge of Bob Saget's work outside Full House and America's Funniest Home Videos, but since those shows formed part of the backdrop to my childhood, it feels right to acknowledge him here.

Like probably everyone, I was delighted to discover that outside of his ABC shows he was an amazingly foul-mouthed standup, starting with his cameo in Half-Baked.

Later on I heard more of that persona on podcasts, like the Nerdist and now WTF, and loved some of those close-to-the-bone jokes. I also heard his voice as the older Ted Mosby on How I Met Your Mother, another role that maybe didn't have much to do with his stage persona, but felt like excellent casting based on his earlier TV work.

I understand he appeared on Fuller House, the revival show, which is funny. I also hear that he remained close to the actresses who played his daughters, which is sweet (even though the AV Club reports that their parents weren't too happy with the language he'd use in front of them on set).

Listening to him on Maron today, I'm also struck by how long he worked in standup, and how many big names he came up with. It's sad that, at the relatively young age of 65, we've lost another veteran of the 80s comedy boom.

Thoughts on Emily in Paris

I have no shame, so I'm committing to the internet that I've just finished the second season of Emily in Paris, and I quite like the show. I'm under no illusions that it's the kind of prestige drama that HBO trades in, but for what it is, it's a charming enough show that I was happy to see a second season coming out. And while I watched the first season with my now-ex, my sister was on hand this January to watch the first few episodes before she went back to London.

So what's to like about a show that even its writers think is pretty silly? It's a fairly cliche look at Paris and the French, and it essentially completely ignores the lived experience of people who live in the outer arrondissements. Even at the individual level, most of the characters are pretty thin archetypes, like the sassy gay guy and the horny coworker.

However, it may just be the pandemic talking, but it makes Paris look so good. I love the city, even though I haven't been there since 2014, when I stopped long enough to grab a sandwich between the Eurostar and the TGV on my way from London to Turin. My previous visit before then had been in 2011, when I went for a work conference. But whenever I'm there, I love the feel of walking around the city, enjoying the cafes and deploying my rapidly declining French (to be answered in English). Watching Emily scurry around the city on her stilettos transports me there and lets me imagine how much fun I'd have out there, if it weren't for a global pandemic.

The city itself makes for a wonderful supporting character in the show. It struck me today that you couldn't really do something like this with any other European city. London's too rainy to host an American's candy-colored fantasies of romance, Berlin is too grimy and Rome is too frustrating (though Rome would make a great setting for a similar show). It's also worth noting that Americans don't really know anything about Europe anyway, so it's better to set it someplace that comes with its own associations, even if a cute romantic comedy set in Krakow or Barcelona would be a fun watch on its own terms.

Emily in Paris is also a great showcase for classic and recent French pop music, which I've always liked. I'm a little weird about music in languages other than English, but the French have long had a good sense of mixing genres, adding some jazzy and electro inflections to their pop and guitar music. The French pop from the 60s that I particularly like (think Moi Je Joue by Brigitte Bardot) leans hard into the bright, exciting image that Paris has long cultivated, especially with playful lyrics and charming singing by beautiful singers. It's a nice backdrop for watching characters zoom around Paris's landmarks on scooters or walking down the Seine.

Another thing I like about the show is watching it with someone else. It's fun to tease the characters, or be catty about their clothes, when watching it with my girlfriend or my sister. More serious shows like Mare of Easttown or even Star Trek demand a certain focus, lest you miss a plot point; this is a good communal watching experience, where paying attention is less important than the social aspect.

It doesn't matter that I'm not really the target demographic. For 30 minutes or so, I can enjoy pretty people having their romantic problems against the backdrop of a city I miss terribly, and not worry about seeing some gritty depiction of urban decay or sci-fi violence. It makes for a nice palate cleanser, which everyone needs from time to time. So avant le saison trois! If they do a third season, I'll be eagerly waiting for it to drop by the end of this year.

After all, we need to see what happens with Gabriel and with Emily's job...