football fight club

trapped in a swirling mood pendulum last week, two dvd's aimed at the macho market caught my fancy. films about gangs are not for the squeamish and the fainthearted. the scenarios portrayed in movies are actually milder compared to the real thing. sports are a mere backdrop for the passion for violence. do real men crave for the fight club to feel good about themselves?

the football factory, directed by nick love, adapted from a novel by john king, delves into the core of a group of chelsea fans who experience a rush in unearthing their inner id, whether it's with the feud and rivalry within the firm, the fued and rivalry with rival firms or the one-off turmoils within the narrator's conscience.

the firm, (not to be confused with the film adaptation starring suri's dad), is a 1988 bbc release with gary oldman as a real estate agent sporting an authentic working class accent, depicts thatcher's britain in all it's petulant glory and in the mode of director's alan clarke's study on social realism. it's more of the same as the former, as rival football fans battle it out in the streets week in and week out. the firm has a more defined edge than love's offering as it focuses on the main plot rather than on subplots on world war 2 veterans and a morality tale on one prejudiced tosser.

as shown on the real football factory on bravo, a documentary hosted by danny dyer, the actor who plays the central figure of the movie version, the reality is even more petrifying than any prudish imagination could conjure. besides england isn't that bad at all. in brazil, they shoot each other.