Forever Pure (2016) Reviews

• Triumph of the racists

  paul2001sw-12016-12-31

  'Forever Pure' tells a depressing story: an Israeli football club, famous for its racist supporters, signs two Muslim players; and the fans boycott the team. Eventually, those associated with the signing move on; and the player who most identifies with the fans' cause becomes the new captain. Ultimately, football is a business; without other incentives, you can't make money by upsetting your customers. The undertone here, of course, is that in polarised Israeli society, the notion of ethnic purity might have an appeal that stretches far beyond the terraces. As a documentary, there's nothing extraordinary about this film; its power comes in the sad but clear view of reality it presents.

• Power to the (wrong) people

  kosmasp2018-02-08

  Fans can hold power over the future of a club they support. And that isn't necessarily a bad thing. They do pay a lot and they do put a lot of heart and passion into that past time. But in this special case, we got a really bad example of the wrong people having a say. The ones that are racist that is. And all gets captured in this documentary. Now whatever made this possible (luck, fate, foresight of the guy documenting the football club?), it is really devastating to watch. Obviously you can't paint every fan with one brush, but the hardcore fan base seems to have gone the way those went that hate jews. The amount of racism is horrible and if you are a positive person you may have problems watching something like this. There may also be moments you lose faith in humanity ... It's crazy ... because it's real

• The dark side of football

  blumdeluxe2019-01-13

  "Forever Pure" tells the story of ultra-nationalist fans of Israeli soccer club Beitar Jerusalem over the course of one season as they struggle both with their own club and players and arabic teams. The documentary sheds light on an important issue and quite brilliantly shows the pathos surrounding the club and how certain people can make profit of it. However, the film almost feels a bit improvised at times, trying to ban a whole season onto tape. At the same time this try to stay in the presence somehow prevents a wider picture and creates kind of a hybrid. Personally, I think I would have prefered to let go of this particular season and try to present the general role of Beitar fans over the course of time as well as some oppositional voices. Nonetheless, this is a depressing and impressive documentary and one that raises questions for the Israeli society and international viewers. All in all it is good that this movie exists because it displays that there are serious problems in Israeli soccer, as there are elsewhere, that need to be adressed and that soccer is always more than just sports.