Tigers

When the Swedish footballer Martin Bengtsson signed up to Inter Milan, his emotional life suffered the consequences.

It's an odd coincidence that in recent times we have had two films about real-life footballers who grew up in Sweden. Given that this is subject matter that would normally be the basis for a documentary, it is even more remarkable that both of these new films take the form of an acted dramatisation. The first to reach us was I Am Zlatan and Ibrahimović’s story is now followed by that of Martin Bengtsson as told in Tigers. The acknowledged source is the footballer’s own book but, whereas most autobiographical films claim to be less than wholly true to the facts, it should be noted that this one goes further and actually indicates at its close that apart from Bengtsson himself the other characters are not based on real people. Earlier it has simply stated that it is based on a true story.

If that indicates an usual degree of freedom in dramatising what happened to Bengtsson that hardly matters for, where I Am Zlatan presented itself as an account of Ibrahimović’s career in its early years, Tigers is set up as a cautionary tale drawing on the experiences of a footballer who, at the age of sixteen, thought that his dreams had come true when he was taken on as a potential player for Inter Milan. It becomes the story of a man who achieved his dream at a remarkably early age only to see that dream turn sour. Consequently, Tigers is a film that takes a highly critical view of professional football seeing it as a tough world in which players are bought and sold and groomed exploitatively with little concern for the individuals taken up in this way.

Indeed, Tigers not only brings out the cut-throat competition between young hopefuls but emphasises even more exploitation by the bosses alongside such actions as warning Bengtsson off a relationship with a fellow Swede, Vibeke, and seeking to peddle lies to protect the player from unwelcome headlines. The fact that Bengtsson was so young at the time and in a foreign country where he arrived with no knowledge of the language adds to his problems. We see only one other footballer, the American Ryan, becoming a genuine friend. But, however individual the details here, Tigers prompts a comparison between the world it portrays and the heyday of Hollywood in the era when the star system put actors under contract to individual studios which then ruled their lives and took control of them.

As presented here, the subject matter of Tigers may not be quite potent enough to provide a masterpiece but one does judge it as a serious dramatic work which is far more than a film for sports fans. Its potential is most fully realised in the adept casting of the leading roles. While Erik Enge is excellent and very much at the centre of the film in the role of Martin Bengtsson, no less notable is the striking screen presence of Alfred Enoch as Ryan. He is clearly an actor to watch and there is good work too from Freda Gustavsson as Vibeke although her role is less rewarding. It is, in fact, intriguing to compare and contrast this film with I Am Zlatan. That film was adroit and agreeable in a popular way but not gritty enough when considering the volatile character of Ibrahimović and the background that contributed to that. Tigers, written and directed by Ronnie Sandahl, is far more ambitious and at its best undoubtedly superior but it too suffers from several weaknesses.

Here again we have a background of family problems (in this case the father’s behaviour has made him a distant figure) but the screenplay needs more elaboration to bring out the impact of that on Martin. As already implied, in the case of Vibeke the acting is at times more persuasive than the writing and certain other scenes lack conviction. Visual shots of a tiger to explain the film’s title and to suggest that Bengtsson has been treated like a caged animal in the zoo but one which remains defiantly untamed strike one as a very self-consciously set-up metaphor. Furthermore, Sandahl, more widely established as a screenwriter and directing his second film here, shows immense directorial promise but in placing much reliance on fast editing (the adroit editor is Ẵsa Mossberg) he fails to grasp the paradox that moving quickly tends to get through so much material that it often makes a film seem longer than it actually is. At 116 minutes Tigers does come to feel drawn out even if certain scenes actually call for more detail.

Ultimately, Tigers is something of a mixed bag. Even so, when it is good it is very, very good and whatever its weaknesses, the work of Sandahl, Enge and Enoch make the film worthy of your attention.

Original title: Tigrar.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Cast: Erik Enge, Alfred Enoch, Maurizio Lombardi, Frida Gustavsson, Lino Musella, Antonio Banno, Liv Mjönes, Henrik Rafaelsen, Gianluca Di Gennaro, Alberto Basaluzzo, Antonio Zavatteri, Daniele La Leggia.

Dir Ronnie Sandahl, Pro Piodor Gustafsson, Lucia Nicolai, Marcello Paolillo and Birgitte Skov, Screenplay Ronnie Sandahl, based on the autobiography In the Shadow of San Siro by Martin Bengtsson, Ph Marek Septimus Wieser, Pro Des Kajsa Severin, Ed Åsa Mossberg, Music Jonas Colstrup, Costumes Mariano Tufano.

Black Spark/Art of Panic/SF Studios Denmark/Rai Cinema/Bahra Film-Studio Soho Distribution.
116 mins. Sweden/Italy/Denmark. 2020. UK Rel: 1 July 2022. Cert. 15.