Cinema Boston’s World Cup of Film: Grand Finale
Hello and welcome to Cinema Boston. I am your host David, and today we’re going to crown our World Cup of Film champion!
We’ll begin with what’s known as the “Round of 16,” which means 8 matchups for you.
We will then go through the Quarterfinals, Semi-Finals, and Final!
The real World Cup is down to four countries, and all are former winners; France, Spain, England, and Argentina.
Cinema Boston’s only former winner is France, and they’re still alive, but we all know how difficult it is to go back-to-back.
And a final reminder that we’re NOT doing a “body of work” tournament like we did in the last World Cup episode.
This one is based solely on the most recent film I’ve seen from each country, and some countries had their films change since our last episode, which directly led to more than one exit as you will see.
Let’s kickoff WITHOUT that annoying countdown they’re doing before every kickoff which is horrible and stupid and has nothing to do with soccer and fucking stop it.
Czechia Spaceman (2024) 👍 Adam Sandler and an alien spider become friends in space
Vs.
England Victim (1961) Psychological drama with a closeted lawyer involved in blackmail and murder
Poor England had their previous film (non-Cameron Titanic movie) replaced by a film I didn’t really enjoy, so Czechia and Spaceman easily advanced. A Night to Remember may have unseated Spaceman if given the opportunity!
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Switzerland Sew Torn (2024) 👍 A seamstress makes that age old movie mistake of picking up that briefcase of money at a crime scene
Vs.
Colombia Bad Lucky Goat (2017) 👍 Two incompatible teen siblings need to fix things when they accidentally kill a bearded goat with their father’s truck
This is the ONLY match in the Round of 16 that occurred on the actual World Cup pitch AND in our Cinematic World Cup! And just like the real match, this one went to PKs, AND just like the real match, Switzerland narrowly escapes and advances. End of the road for our Bad Luck Goat and Sew Torn moves on.
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Brazil The Secret Agent (2025) 👍 4ON! In 1977 Brazil, a technology expert is forced into hiding
Vs.
France All Boys Are Called Patrick (1959) 👍 21 minutes of Godard w/two college girls getting hit on by the same guy on the same day
This was more difficult than it seemed at first. A 4-time Oscar nominee vs. a short film from the late 50s would seem like a runaway for Brazil, but Godard’s short film moves on in a bit of an upset. Viva la France?
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United States Sinners’ Holiday (1939) 👍 Jimmy Cagney’s film debut at the age of 31 in a story about people on the fringes of crime
Vs.
Egypt The Square (2013) 👍 ON! Satire about a controversial art exhibit
The film representing the United States changed three times while preparing this episode, and Sinners’ Holiday is not where the US wanted the wheel to stop. I did enjoy it, and Jimmy Cagney, but Egypt and The Square were too much for the U.S. to handle. Egypt with the win, but I guess there’s always a chance FIFA’s VAR goon squad reverses my call and punches Egypt in the nuts again. They’re probably looking for a foul right now, committed in the first 10 minutes of The Square.
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Ecuador Maria Full of Grace (2004) ON! Story of a pregnant teenage drug mule
Vs.
Norway Sentimental Value (2025) 👍 OW! International Feature Film about family, movies, and art
Norway made it farther than most people thought they would in the World Cup, and the same can be true of Norway in our World Cup of Film! The Oscar winner advances!
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Netherlands Amsterdamned (1988) 👍 Serial killer working the canals of Amsterdam
Vs.
Canada Undertone (2026) 👍 A young woman caring for her comatose mother starts experiencing strange things in the house
Canada had to go to PKs to defeat South Africa and They Will Kill You and now this matchup with the Netherlands and Amsterdamned ALSO goes extra time without a goal, and this one goes to PKs! The winner is…. Canada and Undertone. Canada is now the only remaining of the three host countries still standing.
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Saudi Arabia Alkhallat+ (2022) 👍 Anthology film about social deception and trickery
Vs.
Portugal Ice Merchants (2022) 👍 ON! Animated short about a man and his son parachuting off a cliff every day to sell the ice they produce
Three of our final 16 countries (France, Portugal, and Uruguay) are represented by short films, and if you’ve been here before, you may have heard about how much we love shorts here at Cinema Boston. They can be as powerful, moving, inspiring, and thought provoking as films with two-hour runtimes. And, honestly, that’s true for a majority of the shorts I’ve screened in my life. France’s short (All Boys Are Called Patrick) has already moved on, and now Portugal and Ice Merchants do the same.
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Uruguay Blanes Esquina Muller (2020) 👍 A man moves in with his new girlfriend and is then visited by his future self warning him about her
Vs.
Paraguay Landfill Harmonic (2015) 👍 Music doc about the Recycled Orchestra who makes instruments out of recycled trash
Our 3rd remaining short is the one I wish was a documentary, and I still have trouble pronouncing the title. Unfortunately, it, and Uruguay, will not be advancing in our tournament as they are defeated by the Recycled Orchestra and Paraguay.
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Eight teams remain, and only ONE can be crowned, so let’s move on.
For this Round of 8, we’re going to go with “regular” Cinema Boston intros for the movies. So, I’ll give you ratings, run-times, IMDb scores, and directors as part of the setup.
We will begin with…
Norway vs. Canada
Sentimental Value (2025) vs. Undertone (2026)
Sentimental Value (2025)
Nine Oscar Nominations: Oscar Winner for Best International Feature
R/133 m/IMDb: 7.7/directed by Joachim Trier
Undertone (2026)
R/94 m/IMDb: 5.9/directed by Ian Tuason
IMDb: “An intimate exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art.”
Vs.
IMDb: “Evy Babic, a skeptical paranormal podcaster caring for her comatose mother, receives disturbing recordings tied to a folkloric threat, and every new file pulls her closer to fears she can no longer explain away.”
I’m finding that the best part of this enterprise is ending up having to choose between two movies like these.
Other than a common thread of “family,” these movies couldn’t be more different.
As I mentioned earlier, Undertone will be making the Best of July list, and I’ll tell you all about it during that episode as it does not have enough to eliminate Norway and the Oscar winning Sentimental Value.
Norway rows their way to the Semi-Finals!
Portugal vs. Egypt
Ice Merchants (2022) vs. The Square (2013)
Ice Merchants (2022)
Oscar Nominee: Best Animated Short Film
UR/14 m/IMDb: 7.6/directed by Joao Gonzalez
The Square (2017)
R/151 m/IMDb: 7.1/directed by Ruben Ostlund
IMDb: “Every day, a father and his son jump with a parachute from their vertiginous cold house, attached to a cliff, to go to the village on the ground, far away where they sell the ice they produce daily.”
Vs.
IMDb: “A prestigious Stockholm museum’s chief art curator finds himself in times of both professional and personal crisis as he attempts to set up a controversial new exhibit.”
Another matchup of extremely different movies, and the difference in runtimes between these two films is 137 minutes!!!!
Portugal and Ice Merchants will advance, but I promised I’d talk about a scene from Egypt’s The Square that was as unforgettable as it was disturbing.
The scene is available on YouTube. All you need to do is search “The Square Human Monkey Dinner.”
Yep. It was wild, wild stuff, and no actual monkeys were involved.
A cringey cringey scene. Check it out!
Czechia vs. France
Spaceman (2024) vs. All Boys Are Called Patrick (1959)
Spaceman (2024)
R/107 m/IMDb: 5.7/directed by Johan Renck
All Boys Are Called Patrick (1959)
UR/21 m/IMDb: 7.0/directed by Jean-Luc Godard
IMDb: “Half a year into his solo mission on the edge of the solar system, an astronaut concerned with the state of his life back on Earth is helped by an ancient creature he discovers on his ship.”
Vs.
IMDb: “Two French college girls each meet a boy named Patrick and quickly realize that it is less a coincidence than they think.”
I may be the only person on the planet whose favorite Adam Sandler movie is Spaceman, and I’m actually fine with that.
I’m also smart enough to realize that Jean-Luc Godard is slightly more talented than Taylor and Travis’ wedding officiant, so France will move on!
One more matchup to fill out our final four, and it’s…
Paraguay vs. Switzerland
Landfill Harmonic (2015) vs. Sew Torn (2024)
Landfill Harmonic (2015)
PG/84 m/IMDb: 8.1/directed by Brad Allgood/Juliana Penaranda-Loftus
Sew Torn (2024)
UR/100 m/IMDb: 6.0/directed by Freddy Macdonald
IMDb: “Follows the Recycled Orchestra, an unlikely orchestra made out of recycled trash in a beautiful story about the transformative power of music.”
Vs.
IMDb: “A seamstress gets tangled in her own thread after stealing a briefcase from a drug deal gone bad.”
Although I found Landfill Harmonic a wonderfully positive and uplifting music documentary, there’s something I absolutely loved about Sew Torn.
Sew Torn has a Run, Lola, Run element to it, and the protagonist’s use of her sewing kit and its contents to fight her enemies was delightful.
My mom was a seamstress, and I wish we could have screened this one together.
Four countries and films remain; Norway, Portugal, France, and Switzerland.
The first of our semi-final matches will be Norway vs. Portugal.
Norway vs. Portugal
Sentimental Value (2025) vs. Ice Merchants (2022)
Sentimental Value (2025)
Nine Oscar Nominations: Oscar Winner for Best International Feature
R/133 m/IMDb: 7.7/directed by Joachim Trier
Ice Merchants (2022)
Oscar Nominee: Best Animated Short Film
UR/14 m/IMDb: 7.6/directed by Joao Gonzalez
Oscar winner vs. Oscar nominee! Feature vs. Short!
And, once again, two vastly different films that are impossible to compare, but that’s what we’re here for, so…
Norway and Sentimental Value will move on to the final!
France vs. Switzerland
All Boys Are Called Patrick (1959) vs. Sew Torn (2024)
All Boys Are Called Patrick (1959)
UR/21 m/IMDb: 7.0/directed by Jean-Luc Godard
Sew Torn (2024)
UR/100 m/IMDb: 6.0/directed by Freddy Macdonald
I loved both of these films so much, and it was extremely difficult to choose between them, so this one went to extra time, and then it went to penalty kicks before…
Jean-Luc Godard converted the winner to send France to its second straight Cinema Boston World Cup of Film Final!
We don’t know who will face off in the real World Cup, but ours here at Cinema Boston is set Norway vs. France!
Sentimental Value vs.
All Boys Are Called Patrick
This has been a long tournament, and I can’t say much more about either of our final films that I haven’t already said, so let’s skip any VAR interference and announce the winner of Cinema Boston’s World Cup of Film…
FRANCE and Jean-Luc Godard’s delightful short All Boys Are Called Patrick are the winners!
France?
Again?!!
It’s a fair court, and that is a WRAP for our three-part series Cinema Boston’s World Cup of Film!
We hope you join us next time when we will break down the Top 10/Bottom 5 of the year 1976 when I was in 8th grade at Sacred Heart School in Newburgh, NY.
I’ve seen 110 movies released in 1976, and you’ll be hearing about 15 of them during our next episode.
Until then, enjoy the end of the real World Cup, and take care.
