Uruguayan football drama 9 follows recently disgraced soccer player Christian Arias (Enzo Vogrincic) as he struggles to fight against immense external pressure to rebuild his career.
The film begins abruptly with Christian trying to leave the airport as more and more people swell around him, trying to talk to him and take pictures as he gets in his car. Despite the crowd’s best efforts, he keeps his head down and remains silent in the midst of the chaos in a blatant instance of his general detachment from his reality.
Christian’s apathy towards his own future contrasts the incredible ferocity his father (Rafael Spregelburd) displays in managing Christian’s life and salvaging his image. His father hopes to quell the media and the professional soccer world’s questions over whether Christian is mentally or physically equipped to return to playing after his fight on the field with a member of the Columbian soccer club; a question those close to Christian refuse to ask because of the benefits they derive from his career. Meanwhile he finds relief from the constant strain of soccer in his relationship with Belén (Lara Sofía), his free-spirited neighbor who helps Christian to see beyond the pressure to retain his fame and instead focus on doing what makes him happy.
9 is filled in many moments with silence. Scenes which would typically be blanketed with background music or shortened instead embrace the uncomfortable quietness of Christian running through the street or waiting in his car; making the discomfort Christian perpetually lives in all the more obvious.
Directors Nicolás Branda y Martín Barrenechea said 9 isn’t a sports movie, and it’s easy to see why. It may follow a soccer player, but Christian’s challenges with identity, happiness and managing the expectations of others strike a universal chord.
9
Cine Las Americas International Film Festival 2022, June 8-12.
This article appears in June 10 • 2022.