Statt eine Jubelfeier am Ende der Karriere eines beeindruckenden Leistungssportlers, markiert I AM ZLATAN vielmehr ein orientierungsloses Umherirren des Zlatan Ibrahimovićs in seiner eigenen Geschichte, ohne dass der Profi irgendwas mit diesem Film zu tun hätte. Durch die eher laienhafte Inszenierung aller Parteien sowie ein unaufgeregtes und erstaunlich eintönigen Drehbuch, erscheint dieses Werk wie ein etwas höherwertiger Hobby- oder Fanfilm, der einzig und allein damit bestechen soll, dass wir etwas mehr über die Vergangenheit eines Menschen erfahren, der auf der ganzen Welt für seine fußballerischen Leistungen gefeiert wird. Dafür, dass der Film sich jedoch ausschließlich auf diesen Aspekt fokussiert, ist die Informationsdecke doch erstaunlich dünn und liefert uns weder biografische Erkenntnisse noch einen unterhaltenden Film, der Fußballfreunde vereinen könnte. Schade eigentlich, wo doch in jüngster Zeit so viele großartige Filme in dieser Sektion erschienen.

I am Zlatan ©2021 BR•F, All rights reserved.

I am Zlatan ©2021 BR•F, All rights reserved.

815 appearances, 62,953 minutes played, 203 assists and 492 goals.^[1] In addition, he has won 15 Footballer of the Year awards and almost every trophy in professional sport. That is the record of one of the most successful footballers of all time. We are not talking about Lionel Messi, Christiano Ronaldo or even a legend like Gerd Müller or Ferenc Puskás, but the Swede Zlatan Ibrahimović, who is referred to as the magician on the ball or even as “Ibrakadabra”. The 40-year-old has just finished his career with AC Milan this year, an unusually high age for a striker who was able to deliver tremendous performances until the end and finally became Italian league champion once again. But as great and glamorous as all this reads, the player who became famous for his pigtail hairdo and spectacular play had a hard time in his early days.

Jens Sjögren dedicates himself to the star’s prehistory and presents us with his early career in I AM ZLATAN. This is only his second feature film as a director, which he realised with a cast that consists almost entirely of newcomers. Only screenwriter David Lagercrantz has already stepped into the limelight on the international film stage with his adaptation of the Millennium Trilogy.

Here’s what it’s all about

At eleven years old, the young Swedish-born Zlatan has a lot of fluff in his head. Even though he is not exactly one of the popular boys in his class, nothing prevents him from regularly taking centre stage. He is passionate about football and even though his Bosnian father would much rather see him as a successful lawyer, Zlatan would rather start a professional sports career. Early on, he demonstrates outstanding talent and repeatedly decides matches for his first clubs by scoring decisive goals. But his coaches are often unhappy with him because he is extremely unreliable and causes unrest in the team. In the end, however, he makes himself indispensable through his performances and begins to climb a promising career ladder.

Review

In recent years, we have been literally inundated with biopics and documentaries about terrific footballers who have played a major role in shaping the sport. Few works, however, are dedicated to the subject in a feature film manner, as TRAUTMANN has recently done. The special thing about I AM ZLATAN, however, is that we get to see very little of his actual playing career, which would certainly offer potential for great emotion. Instead, Sjögren takes a closer look at the person behind the sports legend and the events that have made him what he is today. The idea for the approach is also quite interesting, because if we are honest, we can now find the many magnificent goals and match moments ourselves on Youtube and similar platforms, but a biographical insight is much more difficult to find.

I am Zlatan ©2021 BR•F, All rights reserved.

The problem with this, however, is that Sjörgen doesn’t have much to tell and more or less presents us with a normal teenage life in which the name of the main character could be changed almost at will. We do get to know a little of young Zlatan’s rebellious and lively nature and experience the not-so-easy family circumstances, but the big drama is missing. The filmic realisation is accordingly thin and stumbles from one triviality to the next. At the same time, one can guess that not everything in Ibrahimović’s life was as unspectacular as portrayed. This is particularly evident in the fact that we get to see a youth football career on the basis of which a nomination for the professional squad should be completely out of the question. Even if we see a goal here and there, the great moments of play that would underline his playing talent are completely absent.

Sporting unimaginativeness

Besides the overlapping narrative in which three different time levels are packed on top of each other (even though most of the story takes place in the protagonist’s younger years), we also get three different actors taking on the lead role. As mentioned in the introduction, they are all quite inexperienced in the film business and it shows quite clearly. Many scenes seem stiff and unapproachable and none of the actors can even begin to arouse any sympathy in the audience. Moreover, they give the impression of being disinterested and absent in their scenes, which was probably not the intention of the film team.

I am Zlatan ©2021 BR•F, All rights reserved.

Since the image and sound design are also not particularly noteworthy and even the pacing is metronomic, Sjögren does not find an approach to inspire the audience for his intention. Instead, the director establishes countless wait-and-see moments that suggest that an emotional climax or even turning point is imminent. Unfortunately, the hoped-for suspense curve is completely in vain, which ultimately turns this intended feature film into nothing more than a failed biopic that can hardly offer any added value. The only commendable thing is that the film team is absolutely aware that it does not need a story about Zlatan Ibrahimović’s stardom, which they mark with a very apt concluding sentence: “The rest is football history.”

Conclusion

Rather than a jubilant celebration of the end of an impressive professional athlete’s career, I AM ZLATAN instead marks a disoriented wandering of Zlatan Ibrahimović’s own history without the professional having anything to do with this film. Due to the rather amateurish staging of all parties as well as an unexciting and surprisingly monotonous screenplay, this work appears like a somewhat higher-quality hobby or fan film that is supposed to captivate solely by the fact that we learn a little more about the past of a person who is celebrated all over the world for his footballing achievements. But for the fact that the film focuses exclusively on this aspect, the information cover is surprisingly thin and provides us neither with biographical insights nor an entertaining film that could unite football fans. A pity, really, when so many great films have been released in this section recently.

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