This film does exactly what it says on the tin, it is the 2014 World Cup film of Brazil, utilising talking head interviews and fly-on-the-wall style techniques to build a profile of the latest Brazil squad, why winning the World Cup would mean so much to them and what it would mean to the nation.

Nothing ruins a documentary like speculation and A Nation Expects is built on it. This is how the team has been performing and this how well they could do. While it has the heart of a More Than a Game or Next Goal Wins, it’s a story without an ending which is something that can’t be solved. I bet we’ll win is not an ending.

The history is fascinating, about the 1950 World Cup and 2002 squad, but because this film is chiefly about the current squad it feels really dry and lifeless. As it’s all told through the eyes of the current squad it just muddies it and it becomes incidental. Instead of a look into the history of Brazilian football we have an 80 minute first hand account of how great Brazil are as a team. We all know.We all bloody know.

The biggest problem that faces this doc is it’s building towards something that hasn’t happened yet, and as such doesn’t really have a story to tell. It feels more like a feature length match pre amble, clogged with bland talking head interviews and clips of previous matches, but with no match to follow it. There are no real insightful or interesting revelations on offer. It doesn’t need to be probing or gritty, but this is a bit of a puff piece with questions asked like who’s the biggest joker in the squad. This isn’t to say that it isn’t interesting, but for what it is it’s stretched beyond belief at 80 minutes.

Having said all this, what is on offer is very well put together technically and I am well aware that I am not this film’s target audience. I don’t even care about the England squad at the best of times, let alone want to watch a documentary about them. This is a film aimed at people who have a connection to Brazilian football or those who so deeply love the sport that any kind of crumb of behind-the-scenes is enthralling.

There are flashes here and there of a good documentary within, but what we have in total is, for such a colourful and amazing story, utterly vanilla. Not a bad film, just very bland.

Out now on Blu-Ray and DVD

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