Infinite Football Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Infinite Football Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 6, 2022

Corneliu Porumboiu's "Infinite Football" (2018) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include Q&A session with the director; video program with the director; original trailer; and more. In Romanian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

You have heard of Clark Kent, right?

How Laurentiu Ginghina thinks is a lot more interesting than what he has to say about the game of football. Also, when you listen to him discussing his ideas, keep in mind that he is a very well-educated man with a prestigious job in Romania. This is a crucial detail that places everything he says and does in an entirely different context.

The film opens up with a segment in which Ginghina explains in great detail how years ago, while he was a lot younger and actively playing football, he suffered a terrible injury. In the middle of a very competitive football game, as he was protecting the ball, a player from the opposing team kicked his ankle so hard that it instantly broke it. Ginghina immediacy realized that something terrible had happened, but it wasn’t until later on, after he consulted local doctors, that he became familiar with the complete picture – the bone was crushed in multiple, very particular areas, and the damage was almost certainly going to impact other parts of his leg. Ginghina’s recovery was predictably slow and frustrating, and at one point he was told that pieces of the bone had calcified the wrong way.

It was then, while the pain from the injury constantly reminded Ginghina that a lot could have happened differently, that he decided to revolutionize the game of football. Like an experienced engineer, Ginghina then began inventing new rules that mere meant to make football safer and perhaps even a much more interesting game.

As Ginghina details the various new rules for director Corneliu Porumboiu, however, he reveals plenty of personal information as well. For example, he shares how shortly after acquiring his university degree in Romania he decided to relocate to Nevada and work on a farm that needed an advanced irrigation system. But his plan fell apart when the owner of the farm concluded that, for some strange reason, he did not need his services. Ginghina then thought of working on a farm in Florida that specialized in the production of organic oranges, but once again had to abandon his plan because September 11 happened and suddenly entering America became a very complicated business. The real reason why Ginghina wanted to come to America, however, was a lot more complicated. It was true that America was the land of opportunity, but it was also the home of Superman, Batman, and all other great superheroes, and there was a part of Ginghina that always felt connected to them.

A few years later, Romania finally became a full member of the European Union, so Ginghina decided to build a prosperous career in his home country. It felt right because it seemed like for the first time ever the right doors were beginning to open for dreamers like him. Ginghina was young and had a degree, so he was ready to leave his mark in united Europe.

But apparently Ginghina went as far as getting an administrative job that came with a desk, a phone, and a secretary. It was in his home town, too. His plan had once again fallen apart, but at least he wasn’t starving. While working behind the desk, Ginghina then secretly began impersonating all those great superheroes he could not meet in America. Well, almost. He just did what he could to help anyone that came asking for help.

Porumboiu’s film is littered with descriptions of rules that will never become part of the game of football, but they are just a facade and on the other side of it is the sad story of an ordinary man whose life is slipping through his fingers. This is the story of hundreds of thousands of other man and women from the newest members of the European Union as well.

Halfway through the film, there is a sequence in which a woman in her early nineties and a man who is clearly a pensioner enter Ginghina’s office with a request for help. They have some legal papers that must be approved by the proper party, and to get to it they need Ginghina to cut some red tape quickly because they have waited a long time and are about to miss a crucial deadline. Ginghina makes multiple phone calls to reach different colleagues that could help him, but no one picks up. Eventually, someone informs him that the papers have been forwarded to Bucharest, where another bureaucrat will take a look at them and sign them. Definitely. Hopefully. Maybe. Moments later, having witnessed Ginghina lifting up the phone and pushing its buttons, the pensioner uses his entire arsenal of kind words to thank him for his help. Then, while helping the woman in her nineties, quietly exits the office. The trip was worth it because he would have never been able to get this much done over the phone.

The value of this film is in the small, unrelated to soccer details that emerge from Ginghina’s lengthy descriptions, many of which will likely remain elusive to viewers who have never had a taste of the communist and post-communist realities that permanently scarred the people from the former Soviet satellites. Now most of these countries are in the European Union, but the lives of the people living there are just as empty and meaningless as they were before they regained their freedom. Actually, they never did. What changed was only the elite class of bureaucrats and statesmen that defined and controlled their freedom, which Ginghina is now a part of.

Infinite Football Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Infinite Football arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

It is pretty easy to tell that Infinite Football was shot with a small budget and digitally, which means that the Blu-ray almost certainly offers an extremely accurate technical presentation. If I had to guess, I would say that the digital master that is available for licensing was approved by Corneliu Porumboiu as well.

The film is broken into a couple of large segments in which Laurentiu Ginghina discusses his past and his supposedly revolutionary ideas before the director's camera. They all look excellent. There are a couple of very short segments with outdoor footage that look very good as well. There are no noticeable fluctuations in terms of delineation, clarity, sharpness, or depth, but camera movement is minimal as well. Colors look natural (for a digital project). There are no encoding anomalies to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Infinite Football Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Romanian LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The film does not have a prominent music score. Over ninety percent of the audio material comes from the ongoing discussions between Laurentiu Ginghina and Corneliu Porumboiu. The audio is very clear, clean, stable and easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts or other similar anomalies to report in our review. The English translation is excellent.

Infinite Football Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Q&A Session with Director Corneliu Porumboiu - presented here is a filmed Q&A session with the director of Infinite Football in which he discusses the conception of the film as well as the obsession of its main protagonist. In English, not subtitled. (31 min).

• Questions and Interruptions: Interview with Director Corneliu Porumboiu - in this video program, Corneliu Porumboiu discusses Infinite Football and some of its key themes. In English, not subtitled. (25 min).

• The Second Game - Corneliu Porumboiu short this documentary film in 2014. See additional details in the screencaptures. In Romanian, with optional English subtitles. (102 min).

• Trailer - an original trailer for Infinite Football. In Romanian, with English subtitles. (2 min).

• Booklet - 22-page illustrated booklet featuring Kaleem Aftab's "Football Philosophy", Evrim Ersoy's "Laughing Through the Tears -- Comedy & Corneliu Porumboiu", and technical credits.

Infinite Football Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There is a great but perhaps somewhat elusive irony at the center of Corneliu Porumboiu's Infinite Football, and because deconstructing all of its pieces is what essentially makes the film worth seeing, I would like to point you in the right direction. During the Cold War era, it was a lot easier for people living in the former Soviet satellites to openly discuss grand ideas and projects that had zero relevance to their absurd and oppressive reality. Many took advantage of this 'freedom' and became obsessed with them, which worked perfectly for the Communist regime because it kept their minds in 'safe mode'. Basically, they did not have the time to revolt. These were not stupid people either. They usually had university degrees and had good jobs that allowed them to clearly see the many flaws of the Communist regime. Some of these people wasted their entire lives dreaming impossible dreams, while some began waking up in the late '80s and early '90s, and eventually evolved into influential dissidents. The main protagonist in Infinite Football is an intelligent man with a good heart, but he is a perfect replica of the classic dreamer from the Cold War era. He just happens to be stuck in a new reality, which believe it or not isn't all that different than the one that preceded it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.