Champions (I) (2018) User Reviews

It's good to be predictable when your focus is your message

[francescgo · 8/10 · 8 September 2018]

This tender and beautifully made movie is quite obvious and predictable. But it is worth to sacrifice originality when your goal is to focus in the moral message. And this movie has a strong an powerful moral message, so overwhelming that it makes you feel almost like in a church listening a sermon of an old and good hearted priest. It is like 2 hours of visual Aesop greek fables where the characters, instead of animals, are archetypical humans. The most important critic is to our own Spanish history: the National Basketball team cheated in the Paralympic Games of Sydney 2000, because 10 out of 12 of our basketball players did not have any mental disability. They won the gold medal, but they had to return it afterwards. Also the film showcases the extraordinary negative consequences of hyper protective parenthood in raising narcissistic people, completely immature in their 30s an 40s to the point that they can not endure the risks and challenges of sustaining a relationship, facing rejection or creating a family. Specially consistent during the whole film is the critic to our society, based in success over experience, performance over playfulness, fitness over kindness, dominance over community. Finally, the most subtle but powerful subversive message in the movie is questioning to which extent are sick and poisoned the people that consider ourselves "normal". Much of our "normality" might be counter productive, to the point to make us too rigid, cold hearted and stressed because of our own insane standards. All the special basketball players of this special team show us that most of the times it's ok to look silly, to do something stupid or to fail constantly, because they still have each other. So many of us can not say the same.

This movie is such a nice, entertaining, sweet and tender way of reflecting about all these moral values. It's been selected to compete for the Oscar to the best foreign film, but honestly I think they have no chance. We are still too much into an Instagram Age to take a movie like this one seriously.

great fun

[tomdickson · 7/10 · 4 October 2021]

Watched as part of institute cervantes festival, thank you

this starts of in a completey differnet direction and doesnt stop ducking and weaving right to the end as have a fabulour hilarious ride along. Its so clever in handleing its theme or several theme that any audience is going to have a hoot. Highly recommend , effective use of the instrument of cinema!

Fun and enjoyable movie about a botcher team of mentallity disabled players atempting to win the basketball national championship

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 24 December 2019]

This very amusing film deals with Marco, Javier Gutierrez, is the second coach of an important team in the Basketball league ACB, when at a party he makes a strong discusion, being fired out of the stadium . Later on, a drunk Marco drives his automobile, then he has a car crash against a police car. After that, he is detained, really arrested, judged and condemned. As a judge woman sentences wether 2 years spend in prison or 90 days making community services. There Marco is forced to train a team of botcher mentallity disabled players, they are called Los Amigos or The Friends. And their principal objective : to get create a competent team capable to win the Spanish league . As Marco and his players with the unexpected help of his separated wife Sonia : Athenea Mata , try to win the national campionship and to become themselves the Spanish champions.

This above average charming story packs basketball sports, entertainment, humor, emotion, good feeling and lots of fun. The sympatheic roles and funny script use bewildering incidents to give us an attractive flick and that keeps you entertained for the almost 125 minutes of duration. Following the amusing and hard preparatives of the bungler team formed by naive players and eventually the final competing match, tournament taking place in Tenerife, Canary Islands, though the film was actually shot in Huelva and Madrid . The most part of the film concerns in the elaborate process to train them, including a great number of laughters, myhem and confusion. Main and support cast provide enjoyable intepretations. Real starring is Javier Gutierrez as a trainer seeking redemption, he gives a terrific acting, as usual. Javier has already a long and successful career as cinema : Marshland, The motive or Autor, The olive tree, Plan de Fuga, 1898 los ultimos de Filipinas, Retribution, Truman, Assassin's creed , as TV series : Aguila Roja, Verguenza, Estoy vivo. He is well accompanied by a good support cast as Daniel Freire as a trainer, Luis Bermejo a a seller, Luisa Gavasa as his mother and Juan Margallo who long time ago he played the fugitive man in the classic Espiritu de la Colmena. Along with a fine plethora of secondaries, actually mentally disabled, such as : Jose Luna, Gloria Ramos, Sergio Olivo, Carrascosa, Julio Fernandez and special mention for Jesús Vidal who won Goya award as best newcomer secondary actor.

Being well financed by two important producers : Gabriel Arias Salgado and Alvaro Longoria. The motion picture was competently written and directed by Javier Fesser. He is a comedy and humor expert who has written and directed a few fims and shorts, such as : Mortadelo and Filemon contra Jimmy el cachondo or mission implausible, The big adventure of Mortadelo and Filemon, Candida, Camino, The miracle of P. Tinto. And shorts as Invictus, Bienvenidos and 17 year together. Rating 7.5/10. Better than average. Well worth watching. Fun for the whole family.

Good intentions are not enough...

[lf_macias · 6/10 · 4 January 2019]

Inspiring sports film that follows the formula of the trainer with problems that grows as a person next to his team that also has problems. If the formula works do not break it, and here it works for a good time in the movies with mom. The colorful characters that make up this basketball team are those who maintain this film with their charisma, as well as the initial approach to the story, which is attractive and captures attention. However, the plot is going through the path of laziness to resolve their conflicts, until reaching a moment where the main character makes an unethical decision to solve a problem; this makes the outcome anticlimactic. In the epilogue, this character also sins superbly and makes his team do something that he should have done because his life changed thanks to them. This ruins the moral of the story, putting a corny but loose outcome. In short, it is a film of good intentions but that goes from more to less until reaching an unsatisfactory resolution.

Nice movie, nice crew & a good message

[realart_ds · 9/10 · 20 April 2018]

In the ironic world in which we live today, where the rights for all should be something common and accepted, where discrimination should be a word forgotten by the past, we realize that for nothing sexual,gender rights or worst in basic human rights as being able to be treated the same regardless of physical aspects or medical differences, the human is still being unable to treat the others as he would like to be treated himself .

In this film we see this reality, but we also see how that assumption we always make in the face of what others can and can not do ends up being wrong.

The improvement and achievements that for some do not seem to be the great thing, for many is an epic achievement.

This film is not only well done in the film aspect, it also gave in the background aspect a lesson , that I hope many apply in their lives.

Not always the best movies have implicit the great effects, famous actors, and millionaire budgets, in this case the casting was perfect choice, the touch that the protagonists in real life are people with "mental disability", and I think they should be an example for many actors that today are more divas than what they act, the movie gave us also a script well taken, turns in to a comedy that takes you to the joy at times, (not simple laughs) and that true feeling sensation , and a very good direction that I think has merits that I hope the academy and the public in general can recognize.

For last ,remember we all are the same ............HUMANS, the movies should be this, something inclusive, as everything else should be

A movie that has to be seen by everyone, 100% enjoyable and to have a good time at the cinema

EN HORABUENA JAVIER FESSER

Oranges and Lemons. CHAMPIONS!

[chand-suhas · 7/10 · 14 December 2023]

Marco Montes after an heated argument turning into him pushing the head coach, gets drunk and crashes into a police car. His driving license is revoked and to avoid prison, he is offered a community service where he gets to coach intellectually disabled basketball team. This turns his life around as he learns what it feels to be a team and a better human, spending time coaching and even mends his relationship with his wife. Will his team win the championship forms rest of the story.

The film's strength is it's inspiring story and the lovable team from Los Amigos. The performances instantly clicked with me and also Javier Gutierrez as Marco. The screenplay does get convenient in the second half and a couple of scenes do get over dramatic but they can be easily ignored as the story itself is engaging enough till the end. There is a perfect balance between the humor and the dramatic moments. Definitely recommended.

Brutal!!!!! Soooo funny

[mariamianowska · 10/10 · 12 October 2018]

Non stop laughing!!!!! I think one of the best Spanish comedy

Fun, emotions, adult humour and inspiration galore in this intellectually disabled but hilarious comedy.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 6/10 · 20 March 2022]

Campeones / Champions (2018): Brief Review -

Fun, emotions, adult humour and inspiration galore in this intellectually disabled but hilarious comedy. The idea of making this one unique by keeping the ground level massy elements bound together has misspelt a few things here, but there isn't anything so bad to hate it. A basketball coach is sentenced to community service and forced to work with a team of mentally disabled players. He is not serious about his own work already, but he learns to put his soul and passion into it while teaching basketball to those intellectually disabled people. This movie is inspired by the Aderes team in Burjassot that won twelve Spanish championships between 1999 and 2014. Those true events provide it with a concretized storyline, and then the director's efforts to use cinematic liberty make it an entertaining popcorn flick. But could it have been better? Yes, it could have. Easily. Especially in terms of emotions. It could have been more powerful and sentimental, but it misses that due to its out-and-out hysterical treatment. You think you should have felt bad or pity for those disabled people, but you don't feel it because the film does not try to do this regular sentimental stuff. You see everyone laughing and joking around, so you become accustomed after an hour or so, but that causes a disconnect with the human strings of emotions as the climax goes flat. Rest, it's a fine, watchable movie and it has enough human-driven content too. It's just that it's not perfectly placed. Campeones is made for entertainment purposes more than anything else. Just put that in your mind before watching it. I didn't know that Nitesh Tiwari's Bollywood Super Hit 'Chhichhore' (2019) took a lot of references from here, but now there's talk about an official Hindi remake as well. It can be better, indeed. Overall, a fun ride with plenty of hilarious moments for those who understand urban/foreign humour.

RATING - 6.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.

A plea for humanity

[feguillena · 10/10 · 6 September 2018]

..tells in a humorous way. An appeal to all of us....who forget the real meaning of life.

A Spanish movie that makes you laugh without resorting to carry on humour

[chunkylefunga · 6/10 · 21 February 2021]

Some real laugh out loud moments.

Definitely captures Spanish culture and it's treatment of the disabled.

If you're not Spanish some bits might go over your head, but overall still worth a watch.

Not Oscar worthy though*

Best movie

[rajnot · 9/10 · 20 November 2018]

One of the best movie made.. realistic and heart warming. It shows how disable we are judging people by looks and behaviors.. Pretty sure whoever watches this movie won't get disappointed..

Lost potential

[hectorhtr · 4/10 · 21 October 2018]

I came with terrible desire to see the movie, at the time everyone put it very well and to top it has been selected to be sent to the Oscars. Out of the theme of the oscar that I would give for a separate comment, the hype has made the film fall completely to me. In case someone came without knowing anything: The film is about how a basketball coach (Javier Gutierrez) is sanctioned training a group of disabled people. These have been interpreted by real disabled people, which is a risk with pretty good results.

The premise gives a lot of play, both for his comedy that is his genre, and to build and see the evolution of some characters not seen in the cinema. WELL, NO! The comedy works very well, rather, I've laughed a lot and I do not think it's an easy humor to do. At no time is it to laugh directly at them. But the great fault that separates it from something greater is that its characters and the universe it creates are very simplistic. The disabled are shown and are more than façade, but it is very artificial, it does not delve into how is your life, removing a couple of inconsequential moments in the plot. On the other hand, the interaction of the characters is also very simple, and not only that of the disabled that would be logical, but that of others that work at such a basic level that it almost seems written for children.

Not everything is bad, the direction is quite functional and camouflaged, which helps to just focus on the story of the characters. Javier Fesser, the director, rolls in a very cold way showing the reality, with quite tragic points. The conclusion I draw is that the film is based on the claim of a social cause, which is very noble for its part, but has little else to scratch.

Muy buena

[dafr-27027 · 9/10 · 4 October 2018]

Muy buena película, drama comedia y tiene buena historia

One of the best comedy movies I've seen in years!!!

[ladislavnulicek · 10/10 · 28 December 2018]

This is by all means a super brilliant comedy movie! Made me laugh so much, its hillarious. It's a must see !!!!!! Don't wait to see it !!!!

a total laugh riot

[nipunbeniwal · 9/10 · 7 May 2020]

For the people: This movie is a total laugh riot and everyone has done superb acting and super exciting movie to watch. By the people.

Sublime movie

[[e-mail] · 10/10 · 8 April 2019]

Very touching with humour, sincerity that touches full of argument such as prejudice, coping, courage, flight, love, simplicity, difference, respect and communication. Ideal for going with children to learn values

On point heartwarming commedy!

[narcisoantunes · 9/10 · 3 November 2019]

Came across this movie somewhere and the premisse sounded interesting: a professional basketball coach who has to train a team of disabled people.

The story itself is a nice tale seen over and over through the years. Nothing to add here. However, what is gorundbreaking is using real disabled people to play roles in the movie, integrating them in a project that they really deserved to be a part of.

It is a simple story, but an hillarious one. It's hard to say where and when does the actor start and the real person starts. The jokes delve around disability and their world. How they are seen by others and how they interpret these messages through others' eyes. Smart and witty, at times. Raw some other times.

Worth watching, this lovely, simple, heartwarming commedy.

Great movie

[txemi-27770 · 10/10 · 20 August 2019]

Touching, Funny, very good script, great director and actors.

awesome movie

[facebook-94236 · 10/10 · 26 December 2018]

I'm not much into this kind of films, but this is an all-time must. The directors aces a hilarious movie while showing a outmost respect for the people the psychic challenges, without resorting to paternalistic or cheesy messages. Recommended for both adults and kids (I must say there's some swearing)

Great movie to watch

[nanthakumarrr · 10/10 · 25 December 2018]

Simple yet this movie teaches the most important values to be followed in life in a humorous way on the go

Movie to see when you're feeling down

[farkasmatej · 10/10 · 22 February 2019]

I had no expectations when I went to see this movie and I wasn't sure in the beginning if it is disrespectful or what. I ended up having a great time and laughed a lot. The message of this movie is obviously and it is greatly done. A must see.

What a warm, entertaining and significant movie!!!

[gokselll · 9/10 · 18 October 2019]

A trainer has to lead a basketball team composed of special people each of who face various mental or physical disabilities.

Everyone should certainly see this movie. The movie makes question; what/who is normal?

Who is disabeled and what is real disability?

Which disabilities exist in the lives of people assumed to be "normal"?

Can normality be a form or type of disability?

All these questions reach very meaningfull answers in the movie; an entertaining story which is full of smile.

Simply amazing

[dmoralexxx · 10/10 · 16 January 2021]

One of the best movies I have ever seen in my life! It's funny, original and unique! What an wonderful story, script, direction, sound, actors,all... Better than 95% of american movies! You don't need to have 90 million budget to make an art piece! Every one should in hollywood should see this movie in order to have more movies like this!