-Written by Kyle Bain.
The first ever women’s soccer world cup was the 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup, held in China, right? Wrong. Twenty years prior in Mexico, the official first Women’s World cup was held. Shortly after what is known as Copa 71, women’s soccer was banned and/or stifled around the world. The reason for its contention is heavily debated, and that’s the purpose of this documentary–to reveal what caused this ban and why it was initiated in the first place.
Who doesn’t like a good sports documentary? I know I love sitting down to hear about the various sports and their tournaments that have been present in our world for centuries, particularly one that I never knew existed in the first place. Copa 71 greatly appeals to me on the surface, and that aspect of the film is wonderful–effectively brought to life throughout. Many of the women that participated in the first ever Women’s World Cup are given the opportunity to relive their success, a chance to tell the world about something they likely have never before heard of. They’re passionate in their explanation of their experiences, and viewers can feel what that tournament meant to them.
This aspect of the film is beautiful, warranted, and well received. I needed more of this, Copa 71 needed more of this in order to be truly successful–but there’s another aspect of the film that takes precedence over that triumph and the wonderfully relived stories–and that’s anger and frustration.
What the numerous women do throughout the film as well is complain about just about everything. They don’t just complain about the issues surrounding women’s sports (which would make sense), they complain about it being too hot during practices in the 70’s, about the practices being too difficult, and being unprepared for opponents. Copa 71 seems to be aimed at lifting women up, at expressing how and why women’s sports deserve just as much recognition as their male counterparts–but the constant complaints steal from that narrative. This isn’t a way to get viewers on their side, this isn’t a way to express the validity of women’s sports, this isn’t a way to get viewers to appreciate Copa 71. This aspect of the film droned on, and drained me–making it incredibly difficult to focus, and even more difficult to care.
With all of that, and the primary purpose of Copa 71 being to raise up women athletes, there are other aspects of the film that seem unnecessary. The thing that stands out most to me is the final credits, and the song that plays alongside them. The song that plays during the final credits at one point says “I want to kiss the feet of all those women…” How insane is that? That’s representative of how Copa 71 feels almost in its entirety. How can anyone affiliated with this doc justify using lyrics like this? I’ll answer for them: they can’t. They are beyond acceptable, beyond reason, and they, very much like the complaints that fill the screen, make the film difficult to appreciate.
There are aspects of Copa 71 that feel overly scripted, there are many instances throughout that are annoying, and, yet, this documentary is intriguing. As I mentioned at the start, I thoroughly enjoy sports documentaries, and at the heart of it all that’s what Copa 71 is. There are major bumps in the road, but Copa 71 remains interesting.
Directed by James Erskine & Rachel Ramsay.
Written by James Erskine, Victoria Gregory, & Rachel Ramsay.
Starring Brandi Chastain, Elena Schiavo, Elvira Aracen, Nicole Mangas, Birte Kjems, etc.
6/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE
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