John McEnroe: In The Realm of Perfection

Directed by Julien Faraut

This is a thoroughly and totally immersive film essay on tennis legend John McEnroe using footage shot during the 1984 Roland-Garros French Open. A film that manages to invoke Tarkovsky’s notion of sculpting in time, Mozart, and an iconic De Niro speech from Raging Bull, this is an intellectual, entertaining and witty work about what it means to strive for and almost achieve total perfection. The use of Sonic Youth on the soundtrack is a masterstroke.

Duration:
95 minutes

Translated title:
L'empire de la perfection

Languages:
English and French

Subtitles:
Partial English

Country of origin:
France

Year of production:
2018