I also do not understand the low scores. I am sure the average will go up after more people have seen it and voted. Maybe there are some salty Bayern fans here who still aren't over his move to Real Madrid. I am a Bayern supporter myself and in hindsight it is very easy to see that it was a mistake to let Toni go. In this documentary you see quite a lot about his private life and it helps explain his way of interpreting and playing football. The picture of the German squad with Angela Merkel after winning the World Cup in 2014 is definitely one of the highlights of the movie. It really says a lot about Toni Kroos.
Anyone who likes football will enjoy this movie. The only cringy parts are the ones with Robbie Williams. If the makers had left those out, I would have given the film 9/10 stars.
6 Reviews
By the books and as such a success
Horst_In_Translation1 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
"Toni Kroos" is a German documentary from 2019 that is mostly in the German language, but because of the interviewees' origins sometimes also in other languages like English and Spanish. It runs for over 110 minutes, so not too short and the director is Manfred Oldenburg. If you know a bit about his background, then you also know what to expect here. And if you don't, then a look a his body of work will help. He has mostly worked on political/historic documentaries over the years, but also on sport-themed documentaries. Football-themed to be more precise. And this is what we have here. After his takes on the German World Cup win in 1954 and the World Cup in 2006 that took place here in Germany, he made a film now with specific focus on one player: Toni Kroos. This came out at a pretty similar time, maybe minimally earlier, like a documentary about Bastian Schweinsteiger, who is like five years older, but the two had similar careers, not only because of their shared time with Bayern Munich and the German national team, but also because of their transfers to teams from other countries, even if there were also key differences. Now let's not talk too much about Schweinsteiger or his adorable wife, but about Kroos and this film we have here. It was on television last night, so I thought I'd give it a go. And overall, I was not too disappointed. About my background I must say that I am indeed a football fan, but not a huge one also also do not really care about Bayern Munich, the German national team and even Real Madrid is not one of my favorites. So I was not too sure if and how I would like the outcome here, but it was nice nonetheless. This maybe also had to do with the protagonist. Probably because he is the exact opposite of an extravert and very much like myself this way. He is not Podolski or Neymar, certainly not Cristiano Ronaldo, but the calm guy pulling the strings to make the latter look even better. There was a little talk about him being like a construction worked by Reif I believe and that felt very accurate. Another thing that stays in the mind is of course the photo with Gauck and Merkel and how Kroos is doing his thing at the side of the action and not at the center of it, which makes him even more likable, especially with the distance to Merkel, even if his reaction there is surely not a political statement, but more of a statement of character. But it was funny how his peers said they could not find a photo really that shows Kroos with the trophy. "Peers" in this context includes his wife, but also his parents and his brother Felix, another football player. He also added some interesting parts here, like when he says they never really talked about feelings in his family and that is almost psychological. Or when they are joking what it was like the other ay around with Felix being the huge star, the World Cup and Champions League winner, and how Tony would not mind at all. Clearly, these two seem very close and it felt real and not fake.
As for the interviewees, they got many big names for sure. Heynckes is in here, Sammer, U. Hoeneß, but also from his time abroad we see Ramos and Guardiola for example and more for the entertainment factor than anything else we have Robbie Williams. Interesting inclusion. He talks about Kroos in a way that makes you think he really appreciates him, but that is just because he is simply a big football fan in general, also about the freekick goal against Sweden (wrong, commentator, he could finish the shot directly). Anyway, at the end Williams even gets a shirt by Kroos and he kisses it. That's how amazed he is. This is of course still from the days before the press publicly shamed Robbie Williams and completely ignored all the great things he did because he is an evil, evil conspiracy theorist now. Sigh. One who you do not really see or hear in this film is Cristiano Ronaldo. A bit disappointing because Kroos did a lot for him, but yeah maybe his ego did not alloww him to be in here and praise anybody other than himself. I don't think it is a matter of time because this documentary was clearly filmed over the course of several weeks, if not months. Even Messi we see briefly and he seems to be on friendly terms with Kroos too, even if they were rivals playing for the two dominating Spanish teams with one of those winning the championship every year. Messi did so more frequently, but he is about to leave Barca now anyway, maybe also because in 2020 Real Madrid won the title, even in the absence of Ronaldo. Okay, let's not drift too far away now. Overall, there is also major focus on Kroos' role as a leading figure of his team and how frequently he was not seen that way when with Bayern Munich, especially during one crucial penalty shootout and how he says himself frequently he felt as if he did not get the appreciation that matched his talent and level and this may be the reason why he went to Spain at a relatively young age where he had his even bigger breakthrough. He may be more of an introvert, but do not mistake Kroos for somebody who does not know about his quality. This becomes obvious when he talks about Munich in various ways, also when he says that Klinsmann was wrong in not letting him play more often during his very young years. Like I said, I enjoyed the watch here, but I feel it is always pretty difficult to make a football documentary, especially when there is focus on just one player, as exciting that I am really on the edge of my seat. But maybe that's just me. I was even less amazed early on, but I think that after the first hour it got better and that is also the key reason why eventually there is not much hesitation for me in giving this film a positive recommendation. The insight in his family life is good enough, also how his wife says they do not like these charity events too much and only do them for the money to help the cause. Kinda likable too. They are not limelight people, that much is safe. Of course, this also never turns into Kardashian level or so. The family stays sacred and mostly in private. As for the football aspects, the film is clearly also packed with those and we find out about all the key stages in the older Kroos brother's career before the making of this film. But it is a career that still goes on and they were right in saying at the end that probably several titles will follow in the future. he is not that old yet. So overall, this is not a film that will really get you interested in football or Kroos himself if you are not interested before the watch already, but if you care, then it is a good pick, especially if you are (like Kroos myself) more on the calm and quietly convincing side. Then it will be easier to make a connection. I'd definitely watch this anytime over "Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen". Hm people today would not appreciate Wortmann for inclusing the name of the country in the title. How evil and racist! Alright, drifting away now again, so I shall end my review here by saying that "Toni Kroos" or sometimes also just "Kroos" deserves to be seen. Thumbs up for the competent execution.
As for the interviewees, they got many big names for sure. Heynckes is in here, Sammer, U. Hoeneß, but also from his time abroad we see Ramos and Guardiola for example and more for the entertainment factor than anything else we have Robbie Williams. Interesting inclusion. He talks about Kroos in a way that makes you think he really appreciates him, but that is just because he is simply a big football fan in general, also about the freekick goal against Sweden (wrong, commentator, he could finish the shot directly). Anyway, at the end Williams even gets a shirt by Kroos and he kisses it. That's how amazed he is. This is of course still from the days before the press publicly shamed Robbie Williams and completely ignored all the great things he did because he is an evil, evil conspiracy theorist now. Sigh. One who you do not really see or hear in this film is Cristiano Ronaldo. A bit disappointing because Kroos did a lot for him, but yeah maybe his ego did not alloww him to be in here and praise anybody other than himself. I don't think it is a matter of time because this documentary was clearly filmed over the course of several weeks, if not months. Even Messi we see briefly and he seems to be on friendly terms with Kroos too, even if they were rivals playing for the two dominating Spanish teams with one of those winning the championship every year. Messi did so more frequently, but he is about to leave Barca now anyway, maybe also because in 2020 Real Madrid won the title, even in the absence of Ronaldo. Okay, let's not drift too far away now. Overall, there is also major focus on Kroos' role as a leading figure of his team and how frequently he was not seen that way when with Bayern Munich, especially during one crucial penalty shootout and how he says himself frequently he felt as if he did not get the appreciation that matched his talent and level and this may be the reason why he went to Spain at a relatively young age where he had his even bigger breakthrough. He may be more of an introvert, but do not mistake Kroos for somebody who does not know about his quality. This becomes obvious when he talks about Munich in various ways, also when he says that Klinsmann was wrong in not letting him play more often during his very young years. Like I said, I enjoyed the watch here, but I feel it is always pretty difficult to make a football documentary, especially when there is focus on just one player, as exciting that I am really on the edge of my seat. But maybe that's just me. I was even less amazed early on, but I think that after the first hour it got better and that is also the key reason why eventually there is not much hesitation for me in giving this film a positive recommendation. The insight in his family life is good enough, also how his wife says they do not like these charity events too much and only do them for the money to help the cause. Kinda likable too. They are not limelight people, that much is safe. Of course, this also never turns into Kardashian level or so. The family stays sacred and mostly in private. As for the football aspects, the film is clearly also packed with those and we find out about all the key stages in the older Kroos brother's career before the making of this film. But it is a career that still goes on and they were right in saying at the end that probably several titles will follow in the future. he is not that old yet. So overall, this is not a film that will really get you interested in football or Kroos himself if you are not interested before the watch already, but if you care, then it is a good pick, especially if you are (like Kroos myself) more on the calm and quietly convincing side. Then it will be easier to make a connection. I'd definitely watch this anytime over "Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen". Hm people today would not appreciate Wortmann for inclusing the name of the country in the title. How evil and racist! Alright, drifting away now again, so I shall end my review here by saying that "Toni Kroos" or sometimes also just "Kroos" deserves to be seen. Thumbs up for the competent execution.
Not for everyone
gabrielratz10 August 2020
The best sport documentation I've ever seen!
CharlyWaffles14 December 2019
Really just can't see any reason why anybody here rated that movie worse than 8. For me it's by far the best sport documentation I've ever seen. It's not just about the sport, or a team or a country. It's about a boy becoming a man who simply loves the game and his family. And still stays humble after all these years. I also worked for the professional soccer business and have seen so many guys who just took the wrong road. This guy is in so many ways a real role model. And this fine and sensitive documentation mirrors that. Nothing more, but also nothing less. If you just like sports in general it's a must see. And even if you're don't it's still more than worth to see.
Groß
alamm-gmx26 July 2019
No idea, why people give bad or medium ratings here for this film or who these people are. The film is a fine documentary that gives a deep personal insight into the players family, career, successes, many wins and few losses.
first time I realize how wise and good it was for Kroos to leave FC Bayern for Real Madrid. His standing in München simply wasn't good enough for him to take the blame on him if he had missed a penalty in the CL final 2012 and it was wise and consequent not to shoot, but Uli Hoeneß wouldn't accept it and therefore lost the player at his first peak.
Another Documentary
matze-2396730 July 2020
It's like stalking someone. Interesting enough to stay tuned but we have 3000 professional football players in Europe but why should we watch a movie about Toni Kroos? He's a nice guy, introvert, humble and there's a foundation he has founded. All nice and well but what now? The movie leaves me with a big question mark as to why it was time we'll spend? I guess it's for the die hard fans...
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