Do we need to have our own documentary series today to be a sport or competition that counts?
We must believe it if we observe the success of productions dedicated to the sporting world hosted in recent years by
Netflix
, Prime Video or Apple TV+?
Since the first season of
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
, the counters have gone crazy.
Break Point
in tennis,
Full Swing
in golf,
All or Nothing
in football,
Make or Break
in surfing,
Tour de France.
At the heart of the
cycling peloton... All these documentary series have met their audience, hungry for indiscretions and shocking phrases.
The dynamic and dramatic signature of the story, associated with the stakes of the competitions, stirs up passions.
To discover
TV tonight: our selection of the day
The latest in the sporting sagas, the British
Six Nations.
Full contact
(
Au contact
, in French version) has been available on Netflix since January 24.
The Box to Box Films cameras roamed the stadiums and locker rooms of the 2023 edition of the Tournament, flirting with the intimacy of the best rugby union selections in the Northern Hemisphere.
A frenetic tour of Europe which is divided into eight 56-minute episodes, during which each team reveals its little secrets.
The viewer remains a little hungry
Rich in match extracts and exclusive interviews, the episodes follow one another through the twists and turns of an event ultimately won by the Irish XV, author of a remarkable Grand Slam, the fourth in its history.
However, it must be admitted, this first
Six Nations season.
Full Contact
leaves the viewer a little unsatisfied.
As if rugby had difficulty opening up completely to as many people as possible.
As if the codes and attitudes of the protagonists had not always been captured from the right angle.
“The difficulty with rugby is primarily due to the fact that it is a team sport
,” tries to explain James Gay-Rees, producer behind the biggest sports blockbusters produced by Box To Box Films.
You can't track all the players on a team, so you have to find out who, how and why.
»
In the first episode, dedicated to the Scottish team, which opened the 2023 Tournament in resounding fashion in England (23-29 victory), coach Greg Townsend and his talented play leader Finn Russell (former Racing opener 92) are the center of attention.
Over the course of the series, it will be the English pillar Ellis Genge
(“I could have become a plumber like my father or sold drugs”),
then his Irish counterpart Andrew Porter (
“Look at the state of my right ear, believe -it or not, but it's the real one »
), which takes over.
The fifth episode is dedicated to the XV of France, whose virtues of courage and combat are glorified.
The camera focuses especially on Gaël Fickou, darling of the lens.
The images in action of the French three-quarter center illustrate the remarks made by English coach Shaun Edwards, defense specialist, filmed during a talk at the Marcoussis training center.
A strong moment.
“Gaël is ready to go with his teeth when the matches get tough.
» “What is great about the competition and therefore in the series
is
that the DNA of the France team is diametrically different from the DNA of Scotland, for example.
From my point of view, it was fascinating to understand and show the public these radically different profiles, even in the way they play rugby,”
concludes James Gay-Rees, who is preparing for a season.
Its filming begins in Marseille this Friday, with France-Ireland (live on France 2 at 8:45 p.m.) at the opening of the 2024 Tournament. The opportunity for the series to transform the test…