United Passions is a 2014 English-language French drama film about the origins of the world governing body of association football, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Ninety percent funded by FIFA,^[1] it stars Tim Roth, Gérard Depardieu, and Sam Neill, and is directed by Frédéric Auburtin. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2014, and was released in Serbia on 19 June 2014.^[2] There are plans to release the film in other countries.

Cast

Production

Principal photography took place in Switzerland, Azerbaijan, France, and Brazil.^[3]

Release

The film's release in the USA coincided with the 2015 FIFA corruption case, in which several current and former members of FIFA's executive committee were arrested on suspicion of corruption.^[4] The corruption investigation led to the resignation of FIFA's president, Sepp Blatter, following decades of speculation and accusations of corruption at FIFA under his leadership.^[5] The film was accused of ignoring these long-running claims. Roth has said that he asked the filmmakers: "Where's all the corruption in the script? Where is all the back-stabbing, the deals?" He said he attempted to convey these elements through his performance, saying: "It was a tough one. I tried to slide in a sense of it, as much as I could get in there."^[2] The film's director, Frédéric Auburtin, claimed he inserted "ironic parts" into the film.^[2] Prior to its release, John Oliver lampooned the film saying that the "movie, like FIFA itself, looks terrible", asking "Who makes a sports film where the heroes are the executives?"^[6] The film also faced criticism from media concerning the £16 million cost of production, more than the annual turnover of most of FIFA's national associations.^[7][8][9]

Critical reception

The film currently has a rating of 0% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 9 reviews.^[10] On Metacritic, the film has a 1 out of 100 rating based on 7 critics.^[11] It is one of eight films in the history of the site to carry the lowest rating; the previous films being The Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence), Not Cool, 10 Rules for Sleeping Around, inAPPropriate Comedy, Chaos, The Singing Forest, and Bio-Dome.

The film has been universally panned by reviewers, who have criticized the poor quality of the drama,^[12] the unsuitability of the topic of administrative matters for a movie^[13] and the perceived biases of the film, with The Guardian describing it as "cinematic excrement' and "self-hagiography",^[12] and others calling it a "cringeworthy, self-aggrandizing affair";^[4] and "astonishingly crass".^[14] Several reviewers commented on the irony of the portrayal of Blatter in the film as an anti-corruption campaigner. Sara Stewart of the New York Post described it as "hilariously ill-timed",^[15] while Paul Field of the Daily Mirror said that this created "unintentional comedy gold".^[16]