A few months ago, Japan’s NHK TV broadcast a documentary about Japan’s loss to Belgium in the top 16 of the 2018 Russia World Cup. The film is titled "Black 14 Seconds" (also known as " Rostov’s 14 Seconds" ). The content of "Black 14 Seconds" is the story that in the last 14 seconds of the game, the Japanese team was beaten by the Belgian team in a sharp and classic quick counterattack from the goalkeeper, which made the Japanese team miss the top 8 of the Russian World Cup. .
is different from the sensational and inspirational themes in the past. The documentary is completely based on the analysis of what happened in these 14 seconds, interspersed with players, The coach’s interview is a reflective football documentary.
After the documentary was translated and released by netizens with Chinese subtitles, it caused a heated discussion on the Chinese Internet and a wave of discussions in the football circle. AFC A-level coach Jia Tianning once said, "This is a documentary that all people in football-related industries should watch more than ten times." So what kind of documentary is this really worthy of such admiration from the football community?
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The viewing angle is unique, and the characteristics of the Japanese "axis" are at a glance
The total duration of "Black 14 Seconds" is about 48 The general content flow is: background introduction of the first 17 minutes + interviews with relevant players → 17 minutes to 41 minutes is an in-depth analysis of the Belgian 14-second lore process (including memories of Japanese players and Belgian players who participated in the entire offensive and defensive process , There are also relevant comments and opinions of football stars) → 41 minutes to the end is the reflection of Japanese players on the 14 seconds and even the result of the defeat (the process of defeat in 14 seconds, the meaning of Japanese football and the outlook for the future).
"Black 14 Seconds" documentary screenshot
In past sports documentaries, especially in the context of the subject of failure, directors often focus on the larger "pattern". They hope to analyze the reasons for the failure of a team by restoring the whole picture of the whole incident and the inside story behind it.
However, this "Black 14 Seconds" obviously has its own unique perspective. In fact, from the title of the film, the director has already told everyone his intentions. This documentary starts from this simple 14 seconds, and replays it through 28 cameras from multiple angles to reproduce the selection and judgment of the Japanese and Belgian players during the entire 14-second period, interspersed with the players’ own memories. And interpretation, let people appreciate what these 14 seconds mean for the victory or defeat of this game?
Jia Tianning said: “What happened in these 14 seconds included: Honda’s selection before the serve, De Bruyne’s role transition after the ball, Courtois The observation before the ball, the momentary hesitation of Yoshida Asa’s transition, the judgment of Hotaru Yamaguchi between “on” and “retire”, Nagatomo’s decision on “area” or “marking”, Lukaku rough With long eyes in the back of his head, Makoto Hasebe’s last game in the national team, and the most regrettable touch...and so on, the details of "reading" and "election". These 14 seconds All the details covered are about the importance of game reading ability in football because of the different dimensions of the reading game and the different choices that produce different results."
From this point of view, this documentary shows the characteristics of the Japanese "shaft" at a glance. They don't like to use too much sensationalism, gorgeous rhetoric, and More comforting words to look at the World Cup loss to Belgium. Even in the eyes of many people, with the strength of the Japanese team, being able to compete in the World Cup knockouts, facing the third place Belgium team, once led the opponent by two goals is a very remarkable achievement.
But in the eyes of the Japanese, if you lose, you lose, and if they lose, they have to figure out why they lost. in order toTo figure out why they lost, NHK asked Japanese players, other people (famous players), and even their opponents (Belgian players, coaches). The analysis, thinking, and reflection parts also occupy the largest space in the film. This is not only the end of a World Cup trip for the Japanese team, but also a vivid life experience lesson for the Japanese internationals who bet on everything. I think this is one of the revelations that this documentary can bring to us.
The complex nature of the Japanese-the spirit of reflection
When it comes to this, maybe someone will spray, how can the Japanese have the spirit of reflection? Didn't they always deny or even downplay the fact that they invaded China? Yes, this is also a very contradictory point for the Japanese and even Japan as a whole. On the one hand, the extremist groups represented by the Japanese right-wing forces have turned a deaf ear to historical crimes such as aggression against China; on the other hand, we often see the strong self-reflection consciousness of Japanese teams and players in competitive sports.
This is naturally related to the composition of Japanese culture. Many experts have analyzed and said: “Japanese culture is more like a culture of shame than a crime similar to the West. They don’t think that they were born with original sin. But if someone exposes his fault in public, he will feel very ashamed, and the ending is nothing more than challenging the person who exposed him to try to prove that he is not. Or, He carried himself silently and even killed himself."
This documentary is also the same. From the perspective of the whole documentary, the link between the 14-second lore is the reflective spirit of the Japanese players.
From Honda Keisuke who kicked the corner kick, Yoshida Asaya who failed to fight for the top spot, to Hotaru Yamaguchi who tried to steal De Bruyne and failed, and coach Nishino Ryo, who commanded the whole game, even the lore in the 14 seconds. Before, Makoto Hasebe made a bizarre mistake in the game, and they are all reflecting.
Everyone is reminiscing, thinking, and summarizing, is it true that every judgment and decision-making in this 14-second process has been perfect, If you can do better, can you rewrite the ending of Chadley's goal?
This kind of collective reflection makes me shudder. Perhaps this is the Japan that makes us feel very contradictory, a nation that exhibits strange antagonisms on the two sides of culture. Reflection runs through the documentary, but is this the only meaning of the film?
Dare to face the failed past is to better look forward to the future
In my opinion, the true essence of this documentary is not the analysis and discussion behind the 14-second story, because from history From the point of view, it is a past event after all, and no matter how you analyze it, you cannot change the fact that it is already established.
In this film, what really touches the scene is the 47th minute, which is the end of the film. Several new stars in Japan: Minano Takumi, Doan Ryu and others are expressing Regarding 罗斯托夫14秒, the most important thing is that they hope this matter can become a motivation for themselves, for the Japanese team, and for the future self to work harder.
I think this may be the true meaning of the whole film-to dare to face the failed past is to better look to the future. I mentioned this sentence as a compliment to the Japanese players and a reminder to the Japanese right-wingers.
After witnessing the tragic failure of the predecessors, Nagatomo Yudu has such a deep reflection, how can they not wake up and inspire Kubo Kenei to go to the 2022 World Cup in the future, and even more distant future matches What about better Japanese team performance?
Many times, we put a lot of pressure on the players in public opinion, and even some players dare not take responsibility under pressure, but evade responsibility. The old players dare not reflect on themselves, how can they expect the new generation of players to learn from it?
Changyouyoudu’s reflection in the documentary
We don’t want someone to come back. The key is the reason, experience, and lessons of a loss. These Chinese footballs are nearly in the past. In the past two decades, we got very few. From the first time we entered the World Cup in 2002, Chinese football has repeatedly made us hopeful and disappointed, and even finally turned into despair. As Jia Tianning said: "In these 14 seconds, the Japanese team lost in observation and decision-making, but it belongs to Chinese football. There are very few people who care about these 14 seconds." From this point of view, isn't it just that the participants of Chinese football lack the embodiment of the spirit of reflection?
Summary of the popularity of this documentary
, I think in addition to football and cultural reasons, there is another aspect that also lies in the narrative structure of the documentary itself and the viewing experience for the audience are very good.
In recent years, the continuous advancement of Li Na's autobiographical film and the film "Chinese Women's Volleyball" can also be seen as a concentrated exploration of sports themes in the film and television industry. Perhaps, one day in the future, we are also looking forward to the Chinese version of "Black 14 Seconds".
is like the world preliminaries where Syria was absolutely tied, and we were able to shoot a "Three Minutes in Malaysia". We look forward to: Wu Lei, Hao Junmin, and Wei Shihao, like Makoto Hasebe, sit down seriously, without the pressure of verbal abuse, without worrying about accountability, and quietly reveal their thoughts in front of the camera . I think if there is such a day, this may also be an improvement in Chinese football, even if it may be derived from a failure.
