Ferenc Puskás in 1971. Anefo Wikicommons.

Is there anything better or more important than a great story well told? There is an Olympian level of awkward self-regard in opening a review of someone else’s film by quoting myself. But that is all I could think to send to Cam, one of my oldest mates, after shuffling out of his Ange & The Boss: Puskás in Australia on Sunday evening.

You’ve got to support your mates. Even if that means watching films about sport.

A packed Astor Theatre witnessed the Melbourne premiere on Sunday and the audience was palpably in thrall. This is a full length documentary film recounting a story that is all the more remarkable for being largely unknown outside of a certain few communities. It’s a story about soccer (which I learnt early in the evening some folks would rather you call ‘football’). More specifically, it is about a period in the 80s and 90s when South Melbourne Hellas was managed by a Hungarian player and coach of global renown by the name of Ferenc Puskás.

And it’s at this point that I’d forgive you for asking “Frank who?” Don’t feel bad; I’d never heard of him either. This is the beauty of the film - I walked out glad to have learned about him. (It’s sort of the point. The filmmakers, Tony Wilson, Cam Fink and Rob Heath say as much. They are all sport fans and they had never heard this story either. But having heard whispers of it, and scratching the surface a bit further, they rightly decided that it was a story that should be told to a much wider audience.) You’ll Google him and you’ll scan his Wikipedia bio and everything you learn about Puskás will warm you. I think I actually felt a sense of loss. Loss of having had this man living in my city and being unaware of it at the time. I could have met him. Wouldn’t that have been something?

We live in an age when terms like “icon” and “legend” and the increasingly irritating “GOAT” are heaped upon athletes and public figures with indulgent disregard. Such words have lost their weight and ability to mark genuinely exceptional figures. It’s a pity because you need precisely such words to adequately describe Ferenc Puskás. Most of the bios I have read settle for drawing parallels with other, wildly more famous, greats of football. He’s like Maradona or he’s like Pelé. But comparisons are odious and those names only mean anything if you know what those guys meant to the game.

Puskás did that other thing: he transcended the game. He played and won at the highest levels - Olympics, European Championships, World Cups - then decided that managing a suburban football club in Victoria, Australia was, mystifyingly, the one thing missing from his sporting CV.

So that’s what the film is about on the surface. (The “Ange” in the title is Ange Postecoglou. This is a name of which I was only dimly aware. I think Roy & HG mentioned him on a podcast I heard once. It’s humiliating in this context but I am just not a sport fan. Postecoglou served as the captain of South Melbourne Hellas under Puskás’ management and they developed a special bond. According to the internet, Ange has “gone on to become a giant of the game in football management” and a “trailblazing coach” which Ange credits in large part to his mentorship under Puskás.)

But an old man coaching young men at a football club is not much of a story. I’m a slow learner, but the realisation I have been dragged to over almost 50 years is that sport, all sport, is finally about community and human relationships. This is something that the makers of Ange & The Boss have captured unequivocally. The film highlights the significance of South Melbourne Hellas for Melbourne’s Greek community. Ange & The Boss has some moments of superb comedic timing and is very funny for the most part. This is a grand achievement given that it explores some of the deepest themes there are: migration, identity and belonging.

Thanks Cam and Tony and Rob. Your film is a great community service in itself.

***

The filmmakers are keen to explore avenues which might permit the film to enjoy a full commercial release. At this stage it will see a limited release at film festivals here and abroad. The producers can be contacted through the website: Ange and The Boss

Due to the success of the Melbourne premiere, a new screening has been announced for 4 PM on Saturday 26th October @ Palace Cinema Balwyn. Details at the same website above. Go see it. You won’t regret it and you may not get another chance for a while.