“Baila, Vini”, in a week since it was made available on Netflix, caused heated reactions. The documentary about the trajectory of striker Vinicius Junior was applauded by his fans, who vibrated with the reverberation of his voice and anti -racist speech on a platform capable of reaching those who do not care much for football. The detractors were annoyed, perhaps for the same reasons.
Directed by Andrucha Waddington, with broad access to the player’s daily life and his surroundings, the film not only talks about the episodes of racism experienced by the Brazilian. In 106 minutes, he rebuilds his way, from the poor origin in São Gonçalo to Estrelato at Real Madrid.
There are touching passages, such as the thrill of his father at his son’s debut for Flamengo. There is also a good portrait of the difficulties – physical and techniques – faced by the boy until he settled as a world star, now 24 years old. But there is no escape from the theme that runs through the whole history.
The documentary’s own title refers to the moment Vinicius realized that he should position himself against racism. In 2022, on a television program in Spain, criticizing the player’s dances at the celebration of his goals, businessman Pedro Bravo asked him to stop “macaquice”.
Vinicius decided to react and eventually became a symbol, a spokesman for the anti-racist struggle. The battle gained new contours in 2023, when, repeatedly offended, the Brazilian pointed out in the stands of the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia, a fan of Valencia who, according to him, used the word “monkey” (monkey, in Spanish).
Multiple audiovisual records seem to make it clear that there were “mono” choirs in Mestalla. But Valencia did not like how the issue was portrayed and threatened to process Netflix. In a note entitled “In Defense of Our Cheerleader”, published this week, said that “in the face of injustice and falsehoods” demanded from the producer of the film “an immediate rectification”.
It gained strength on social networks a message that install people to misunderstand the film in IMDB (Internet Movie Database), a popular site specializing in audiovisual productions. Each movie has a note, based on the vision of the netizens, and the scattered message asked for: “everyone’s moral duty: enter the IMDB, search for ‘baila, vini’ and give 1/10” – in the moment of publication of this text, the note was 3.8 of 10.
Like you or not from Vinicius Junior, it seems undeniable that he has become a great figure. Even in a melancholy end of season at Real Madrid, in an atypical year of bad sports results, the Brazilian has his name most repeated than the athletes involved in the Champions League final, between Internazionale and Paris Saint-Germain.
The next games with some importance of Fluminense will be in the Brazilian team, for the World Cup qualifiers in June. The coach will be the Italian Carlo Ancelotti, who played a big role in the rise of the boy of São Gonçalo and is exchanging Real Madrid for the national team of Brazil.
“Baila, Vini” briefly goes through Vinicius’s still short experience in the national team, focusing on the 2022 World Cup failure at Qatar. Already at the end of the documentary, the striker states that “the next step is to win the World Cup, to pride all Brazilians.” “When you get a World Cup, it’s not just you who are happy, it’s an entire country,” he justifies.
It may become the motto of “Baila, Vini 2”. The original “Baila, Vini” ends with the image of the Brazilian return to Mestalla in Valencia, in the first match after the 2023 episode. With two goals in the second half, he sought the 2-2 draw, avoided the triumph of those who cursed him again and preferred not to dance.
Bailou, static, with his right arm erected and his fist.
