The Rules of the Beautiful Game

THE RULES OF THE GAME (La Regle du Jeu) directed in 1939 by French maestro Jean Renoir took a battering at the box office and also got the thumbs down from the critics. The complex farce about the upper class was then cut by the producers and eventually banned! Can you imagine? With war looming, Renoir felt he had no choice but to flee to Hollywood. Poor chap!

30 years later our own national treasure Ken Loach directed his first feature, the much loved KES, to national and international acclaim. The main narrative is about a young delinquent’s love for a bird – a kestrel that is! However within this film there is another film trying to get out - a film that could almost share the same title as Renoir’s

THE RULES OF THE BEAUTIFUL GAME aptly describes the football vignette that comes in the middle of our hero’s doomed attempts to escape the limiting opportunities on offer for a school leaver in the grimy North. Teacher turned actor Brian Glover, in a memorable performance demonstrates clearly why young people should never trust the word of an adult with a bit of authority to wield. Playing a PE teacher with a tad conflict of interest in that he not only appoints himself to be the referee but also elects to play captain, centre forward and Bobby Charlton to boot, Glover creates the definitive template on how to win at sport. He disallows opposition goals, blatantly fouls opponents, indulges in unwarranted sendings-off and to cap it all, awards himself a penalty. A hilarious metaphor for the unfairness of life as seen through the eyes of an adolescent.

As our heroes wile away their time between games, in their luxurious Southern Hemisphere surroundings, one would hope that Fabio has to the good sense to take my advice and screen the above sequence every night to our pampered 23 before they are tucked up into bed with their play stations. Apart from putting a smile on their darling little faces, the nation’s crème de la crème may just learn from Brian Glover the subtle and not so subtle art of cheating with style and, if I was of cynical disposition which I hasten to add I am not, then a little nudge here and a little push there might, just might, get us past the quarter finals. Better still of course if England’s referee representative to the Rainbow World Cup, Howard Webb, already of some notoriety, was invited to the screenings as well, then he could bone up on his infamous refereeing skills. All we would need then of course is for FIFA’s computer to slate in Howard for the England v Germany final, and the trophy would then be ours again.

And what of Renoir’s film after all these years? It is now considered to be a masterpiece of cinema, though when I show extracts to my film class, such an accolade is not usually greeted with unified agreement. Still, I convince them in the end. And KES? Sadly the bird gets killed in the film and outrageously no one is brought to book. David Bradley who plays our young hero pops up now and again in the press moaning (justifiably I’d say) that his career never really took off despite the rave reviews he got. Similarly Brian Glover’s career also didn’t full fill expectations and sadly he passed away last year. Ironically KES will always be remembered for their fabulous debut performances.

It is interesting to note that I have yet to see the legendary KES footy match screened on television during a World Cup series. Could it be that those who run our TV Sport would see it as irrelevance or they just don’t appreciate their own culture?

If on the other hand, YOU appreciate your own culture, and would like to know more - in particular film – then join FILM NITE at London’s celebrated media club, SOHOHOUSE. The first two sessions will be presentations while the rest of the 11 week term will be given over to seeing contemporary films from all over the world followed by presentations/discussions.

Come On England. Come On England.

Kindly note that FILM NITE is not an official England team sponsor