In the summer of 1957 a children baseball team from the city of Monterrey participated in the yearly tournament of the Little Leagues in the United States. It was the first time that a foreign team was invited to participate (outside Canadians), and no one expected that the modest and poor team from south of the border would even win a game. This lack of faith in them was so big that the authorities only gave them a three day visa to enter the country anticipating a quick elimination. However, the team surprised everyone and they not only beat their first contenders. They kept winning until they managed to be champions of the tournament. It was the first time that a team from outside the United States won the championship, and also the only time in history that a team managed a perfect game.
The team that had left Monterrey with no one paying attention to them, ended up being known not only in their city but in all Mexico. And they became so popular that their achievement was taken to the big screen as soon as it was possible. The result is this movie, Los Pequeños Gigantes. The movie turned out to be quite interesting, and its value lies in the fact that it stars not actors, but the actual kids and the managers that won the championship a few years earlier.
Being a Mexican film shoot just a few years after the story it tells, you could think that the film would be quite partial. But I found it to tell a quite balanced story. Showing not only the complications faced by the team, but also their internal problems and the insecurity and fear they faced. All the film is narrated by the manager, César Faz, and I think his comments are the most valuable part of the film as they allow us to learn from first hand all the experience lived by this giants.
The kids make a fantastic job in front of the camera when they act their own experiences, which is quite remarkable considering their lack of experience as actors. And while I don't think any technical aspect of the film stands out, it is decent at every moment. The only thing that is horrible is the music. The song chosen as the main theme of the film is a typical Mexican children song called "Barco Chiquito". It is one of those songs that can make you crazy if you hear it over and over again, and that is just what happens here. It is tirelessly sang by all the members of the team as if it was an anthem, and after a while it becomes unbearable. The film would have been much better without it.
The film is meaningful for us Mexican viewers, as it recounts a story that can really motivate us. And while this sentimental tie with the movie may be lacking for everyone else, that doesn't mean it is not worth of watching. Baseball fans should be interested in getting to know the details of a historical game that may not be very well known. And for film lovers this is a chance to see a Documentary of a kind that is no longer done. A reenactment of the facts told by a protagonist today they would probably not be considered real documentaries. Another quite similar Mexican film is called Torero, which managed a Academy Award nomination.
The team that had left Monterrey with no one paying attention to them, ended up being known not only in their city but in all Mexico. And they became so popular that their achievement was taken to the big screen as soon as it was possible. The result is this movie, Los Pequeños Gigantes. The movie turned out to be quite interesting, and its value lies in the fact that it stars not actors, but the actual kids and the managers that won the championship a few years earlier.
Being a Mexican film shoot just a few years after the story it tells, you could think that the film would be quite partial. But I found it to tell a quite balanced story. Showing not only the complications faced by the team, but also their internal problems and the insecurity and fear they faced. All the film is narrated by the manager, César Faz, and I think his comments are the most valuable part of the film as they allow us to learn from first hand all the experience lived by this giants.
The kids make a fantastic job in front of the camera when they act their own experiences, which is quite remarkable considering their lack of experience as actors. And while I don't think any technical aspect of the film stands out, it is decent at every moment. The only thing that is horrible is the music. The song chosen as the main theme of the film is a typical Mexican children song called "Barco Chiquito". It is one of those songs that can make you crazy if you hear it over and over again, and that is just what happens here. It is tirelessly sang by all the members of the team as if it was an anthem, and after a while it becomes unbearable. The film would have been much better without it.
The film is meaningful for us Mexican viewers, as it recounts a story that can really motivate us. And while this sentimental tie with the movie may be lacking for everyone else, that doesn't mean it is not worth of watching. Baseball fans should be interested in getting to know the details of a historical game that may not be very well known. And for film lovers this is a chance to see a Documentary of a kind that is no longer done. A reenactment of the facts told by a protagonist today they would probably not be considered real documentaries. Another quite similar Mexican film is called Torero, which managed a Academy Award nomination.
