Nuestro Cine: Marvelous Montevideo

Last week we examined submissions from Cuba and Argentina vying to win top foreign film honors at the upcoming Academy Awards. In the next few days will look at other entries from Latin America and the Caribbean including a Brazilian blockbuster and a based-on-a-true-story movie out of Mexico.

Today, however, we would like to highlight a submission from a Europe country partly set in Latin America. "Montevideo, God Bless You!" is the translated title of the official entry from Serbia that focuses on the participation of the Yugoslavian national soccer team in the 1930 World Cup. The film shows the trials and tribulations of some of the players who come from different social and ethnic backgrounds in order to represent their country at the tournament that was hosted by Uruguay.

"Montevideo" was based on a novel by the same name by Vladimir Stankovic who was inspired after watching the 2005 film "The Game of Their Lives". Thus, the two movies have their similarities including a plot with a romanticized depiction of events.

"Montevideo" was a box office smash in Serbia with plans for a sequel to be released later this year and a TV series in the works. Check out the trailer below and decide if the film could be a dark horse contender to win the coveted Oscar:

Video Source - Via YouTube user intermedianetwork

Online Sources - The Latin Americanist, imdb.com, Wikipedia, Screen Daily