Written by Matt Swanson
With the World Cup in full gear, México 86 is a timely release on Netflix. On its surface, this is a story about Mexico’s chaotic and unconventional bid to host the 1986 World Cup, and the mess that led up to the tournament. However, at its core the film is a hustler romance about ambition, deception, and national pride that uses this historical event as scaffolding to create memorable characters. While the movie suffers from flawed characterization and tonal overextension, it offers enough for soccer and drama fans alike.
México 86 follows Mexican Football Federation bureaucrat Martin De La Torre (Diego Luna) and his quest for glory. He wants to elevate Mexico, its soccer team, its people, and consequently himself. However, there are a few things that hold Martin back from seizing that greatness. His set-in-his-ways boss lacks initiative, his marriage is full of resentment and spite, his mistress is seeing other men, and Mexico’s soccer team is in pitiful shape. Everything changes when Colombia announces that it will be unable to host the 1986 World Cup due to the political turmoil the country is facing. Seeing his boss’s complacency and the opportunity this opens for Mexico, Martin decides that he’s had enough and calls in a favor with his friend at a news station.
Martin, riding a wave of pure confidence and willpower, calls out his boss on live TV and later convinces the head of Televisa (Emilio Azcárraga Milmo played by Daniel Giménez Cacho), that if put at the head of the MFF, he could secure Mexico’s bid to host the 1986 World Cup. The cherry on top of this chaotic scramble is that when Martin is told to bring his woman to Switzerland to meet with FIFA, Martin divorces his wife and confesses his love to his mistress Susana (Karla Souza). With Susana at his side and the 1986 World Cup up for grabs, Martin is determined to win recognition for Mexico with charisma, deception, and sheer willpower.
However, even if Martin is able to win the vote to host the prestigious tournament, that would only be half of the challenge in his pursuit of glory.
México 86 channels a certain chaotic energy in a surprisingly controlled way. It has moments that are reminiscent of a Safdie film, where the protagonist is so willing to sacrifice everything he has to achieve a dream that it’s unclear how he will get himself out of the hole he’s dug. Other moments recall The Wolf of Wall Street, except instead of financial fraud, it’s one man’s ascent through the world of soccer, dragging a nation’s pride with him whether he rises or falls. Despite these familiar echoes, it is never derivative of the work of the Safdies or Scorsese; the film brings its own flair to a unique setting while channeling the same hustler energy at times.
The romantic through-line of México 86 is effective in grounding the story in the midst of the corporate satire. This romance is most successful when it provides a lens through which to view the protagonist. In the world of business, all of his lying and scheming are means to an end. However, in his relationships, there are more immediate consequences to his deception and narcissism.
While the protagonist is charming, México 86 underplays his ruthlessness significantly. The film wants to portray Martin as a selfish, compulsive liar, but it never commits to framing him in an overly negative light. It’s hard to say whether this is primarily due to the script softening his character, Luna’s undeniable charisma, or the direction refusing to condemn the protagonist; likely all three. Regardless, the tame and subdued tone of the film is preserved, but it leaves Martin’s darker facets unexplored.
National pride is felt strongly throughout the film, especially through Martin. It pays homage to the lightning in a bottle that was 1986 for Mexico, and the film clearly yearns for the national unity and pride of that era. The historical elements are also done well, with a clear respect for the real-life people and events involved in the 1986 World Cup.
That pride aside, the film suffers from tonal overextension as México 86 wants to be a hustler romance, a historical satire, and a period-piece tribute at once, but it never commits fully to any one avenue. The result is a film that is moderately enjoyable but whose themes feel spread too thin to have any significant impact.
