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"A warm, gently humorous take on serious life changes … works despite, rather than because, of its sports hook." – Variety
Filmmaker Adrián Biniez presents a layered telling of a man-child's struggle to bid his youth goodbye, as well as his dreams of fortune and glory on the soccer pitch.
Having dedicated his years to becoming a star of Argentinean soccer, only to wind up toiling away in the lower depths of the soccer leagues, Paton is given a lengthy suspension for a characteristically reckless foul. At 35 and surrounded by younger, hungrier teammates, he's forced to confront the stark realities of failed ambition and life without soccer.
Inspired by a true story, El Cinco is charmingly nuanced as a late coming-of-age comedy, with Paton taking his first reluctant steps into adulthood.
"Sidesteps all the sentimentality and bombast its storyline could have brought with it … carefully observed, well-played and engrossing." – Hollywood Reporter