Presented as a documentary, “Federer: the last twelve days” (Prime Video) is a proposal directed by Asif Kapadia and Joe Sabina that presents the final moments of the career of Roger Federer (Basel, 1981), the Swiss tennis player who broke records playing for more than two decades professionally and who, with the titles achieved, his ‘simple’ method and his low profile, helped in the globalization process of a sport historically linked to the elites.
The proposal has just been released on streaming and can be segmented into three noticeably different stages. In the first, perhaps the slowest and least produced, we see how the multiple Grand Slam winner prepares what will be the recording of his farewell message. He does it alone, reading a paper and without shedding a single tear. That video would later be broadcast via social networks, and would mark the beginning of the countdown until his last official match (“I will continue playing with my children and friends”).
LOOK: Up to 57% off. in the best of entertainment. Find out all the promotions here
In this initial stage of this 88-minute documentary we will also see some of the most intimate moments of the European tennis player. Interaction with his children, space for his wife, former tennis player Mirka Federer, to speak, the appearance of his parents, and one or another dialogue with what seems to be his circle of trusted men, from coaches, doctors, representatives and communications managers .
Beyond the feeling of nerves that accompanies almost the entire proposal, initially the concern that Federer has stands out in the first minutes because, apparently, it began to leak on social networks that he would “announce his retirement.” The still-athlete thinks first and then consults his team of assistants if this merits “advancing” the announcement, almost out of respect for the fans. In the midst of this confusion, extremely insightful voices make it clear that no leak will be the same as an announcement with the protagonist’s own words.
As the story progresses, Kapadia and Sabia use flashbacks to remember some moments of Federer’s career. Certainly the number of supporting images does not seem sufficient for an athlete of such stature. There are only two or three shots with him as a ball boy (as it all started). Nor are there many shots of the training sessions that he surely needed to become a titan of the so-called ‘white sport’. This lack seems to have been replaced (or at least it was attempted) with the moments after the announcement video was released. It is inevitable here to see the family unit that has battled alongside the athlete. The parents together, Roger, his wife and his children. A kind of ‘privilege of destiny’ that many other colleagues of the protagonist of this documentary could not boast throughout his career.
LISTEN TO THE NEW SKIP INTRO PODCAST
The second part of “Federer: the last twelve days” is directly linked to the preparation for his last professional match. These are the preparations for a new edition of the Rod Laver Cup, in which teams from Europe and the Rest of the World will compete. In images we will see not only the training that the man born in Basel follows, but fundamentally his interest in making clear how his injuries were the only cause of the ‘outcome’ being expedited. Because Roger Federer seems to have been born to always be on a tennis court, whatever the surface.
The still-athlete was crystal clear in explaining what happened. On a family tour in 2016, before going on a trip to the zoo with his children, Roger wanted to take a bath at the hotel and suddenly, shortly after entering the bathtub, he heard the beginning of the end: his knee throne. From here he would take a long and tortuous path through operating rooms. With both knees subsequently operated on, slow or unsuccessful recoveries and anxiety about returning sooner than they should. “Operations on both knees. One turned out well. The other one (right) doesn’t. They repeated the operation. “Everything got out of control,” he states in the documentary.
This second stage of Prime Video production also includes proof of the special bond that athletes can form over the years. The Rod Laver Cup was held with the presence of great tennis players, but throughout its plot there is a special dedication to the British Roger Murray, the Serbian Novak Djokovic and the Spanish Rafael Nadal. In the reverse order, of course, because it was the Iberian who began to take flight in the second half of the proposal because he exemplified honor and respect in sporting spaces.
LOOK: Concerts, plays, circuses, movies and more with up to 50% off. Discover your promos
Federer astutely profiles each of the tennis players mentioned. Murray highlights his titles, Djokovic his personality and effort (although he also refers to their differences, mainly at the beginning, because Novak roared at every point he took from him, marking a difference in temperament that the Swiss first tried to emulate, but soon blurted out “because I’m just not like that. In the differences, he highlights respect and admiration much more.
But as we said above, the bond between Spanish and Swiss was so special that it probably deserves another separate documentary. Federer distributes his comments with a genuine contradiction: on the one hand, upon seeing the impetuous Mallorcan appear on the circuit, he felt some jealousy (“when I lost my first match with Rafa I didn’t like it. I wanted to be alone at the top”), but This would soon change due to his desire to support young colleagues who were making their way on the professional circuit.
These succulent descriptions, side by side (because Nadal also dedicates words to Federer, such as “it is easier to improve when you have great examples like Roger around you”), are accompanied by another dose of support shots, in which friends and colleagues fight on different surfaces. Each one celebrates the points in their own way, but in the end there are always hugs and applause from the stands.
The final part of “Federer: the last twelve days” is a shower of emotions. With the tournament underway, Federer faces his final hours as a professional tennis player. With his knee unhealed, the Swiss considers that playing doubles is much more accessible. And he does it with his best friend on the court, Nadal. But prior to this we will also see the previous galas, press conferences, emotional responses and also the appearance of other great tennis idols such as the silent Björn Borg.
Stretching, getting your rackets ready, leaving the dressing room and those last seconds before entering the playing field are the most intimate moments at the end of an unforgettable career. But it doesn’t all end here. The match played on September 23, 2022 awaits another dose of surprises, with an audience dedicated to the last drops of sweat of their great idol. Samples of brilliance on the surface (fast medium and slow medium, in the words of Novak Djokovic) that lead to a heart-stopping ending, when the couple from Europe raises their head, but then ends up defeated by a shot from Frances Tiafoe (Damn Tiafoe! Nadal shouted in the dressing room). “Imagine if we had won the doubles,” the Swiss said before, sparking laughter.
The protagonist of “Federer: The Last Twelve Days” is not exaggerating when he says that 16,500 attendees at the stadium that night cried with him. The truth is that the last moments of the documentary directed by Asif Kapadia and Joe Sabia are the icing on an unbeatable cake. It is an audience dedicated to an athlete who, beyond the trophies and the millions of dollars accumulated in his bank account, is someone genuine, transparent, as there are fewer and fewer left. It will be up to his biographers or statisticians to review this data shared throughout the plot (because the film does not abound in statistics, and the decision can be positive or negative depending on the viewer’s criteria): our Swiss idol began his career as a junior losing and ending it the same way.
As if that had stopped him from becoming a legend!
FEDERER: THE LAST 12 DAYS/PRIME VIDEO
Director: Oscar Asif Kapadia and Joe Sabia
Synopsis: The Federer documentary is an intimate follow-up to the last 12 days of Roger Federer’s illustrious career. Originally a home video never intended for public viewing, the film captures Federer at his most vulnerable and sincere, as he bids farewell to a game and the fans who shaped his life over the past two decades. . Featuring interviews from legendary rivals and close friends Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokivic and Andy Murray, Federer: Twelve Final Days provides unprecedented access to the relationship between these incomparable stars.
Duration: 88 minutes
Qualification: 3 stars out of 5
2024-06-23 17:04:02
#Federer #days #Prime #Video #sober #documentary #slow #start #moving #REVIEW #REVIEW #CRITICISM #SUMMARY #TWELVE #FINAL #DAYS #TENNIS #SKIPENTER
