The Two Escobars

Rarely has a film drawn me in this completely. From the moment it began, I was transfixed by the story of Pablo and Andres Escobar as well as their home country of Colombia. The filmmakers refusal to demonize Pablo (although he certainly did some horrible things) is impressive and it never fully lionizes Andres, either, which keeps it from devolving into soft-focus, sugar-coated BS. When the "own goal" arrives, the stakes are drawn so clearly and are so unbelievably high, it's almost unbearable.

One of the top 3 of the 30 For 30 sports documentary series (along with The U and June 17, 1994). In googling it I found one reviewer that didn't care for it because he had to read subtitles. Seriously? Ok, if you have a brain and a heart, you don't even have to be a soccer fan, watch this film. If you "don't like reading subtitles" go watch I dunno, Spider-man or something.

So the link between the two may be a little flimsy but this documentary manages to give decent overall coverage of both stories and how they came to intertwine. It's not perfect (e.g. failing to mention that most of the Colombian players who 'quit' the game returned almost immediately) but it keeps you interested throughout, has a good mixture of contributors and after years of rumour and speculation it's nice to get a definitive answer about the exact circumstances surrounding Anders' murder.

Exceptionally well crafted. The stories weave together in a totally logical fashion although the full impact isn't really recognized until the end even though we all know how it ends. The interviews do a marvelous job of narrating the story and the quality of footage they were able to find from the time period adds a lot to this show. Highly recommended.

A great documentary.

Like all great sports documentaries, it transcends athletics and shows how a sporting event can shape culture, irrevocably change lives, and highlight the (in)humanity that surrounds the inflated significance too many of us lend to the kicking of a ball into a net.

Like soccer, this documentary is pure movement. It never slows down, never fails to pull the viewer towards how the soccer team failed to improve or escape the world of Columbia. This is the best-crafted documentary I've ever seen.

Watching Colombia back then was really something special with Higuita, Valderama, Asprilla and such. Higuita made us wow and lol a lot. Such a colorful player. I would have preferred to remember the Columbian team from my childhood memories I guess, instead of this documentary as this is a very dark, cruel and sad one.

The Two Escobars is the second best 30 for 30 (its superior being the immaculate June 17th, 1994) despite not really being about sports. But then again, June 17th wasn't either -- whereas that one was about media perspectives, this one is about national identity. A link between both is that sports act as a filter to our society and, by extension, our problems. And yet in both cases, when the filter breaks, all hell breaks loose with it.

Very interesting documentary of a truly tragic story. The makers do an excellent job of knitting the two stories together into a fantastic narrative.

Really compelling narrative. I was worried that the documentary was trying to tie together two different threads with nothing more in common than a surname, but the stories are connected way more than I knew. It's really the story of Columbia, told through the personal stories of these two very different people. Excellent doc.

Soccer is boring.

This solid football documentary couldn't be more compelling: the Zimbalists depicts the Escobars' stories in an emotional but vivid fashion, by depicting the disturbing connections between football and drug structures with a sober look.

One of the best offerings in the series, and truly heartbreaking. Sidenote: With everything I'd seen on Pablo Escobar (which honestly wasn't a ton), I had no clue he enjoyed soccer so much.

For a guy like me, who almost love football as much as I love film (It used to be the other way around) this is a great film about the rise of one of the best and most colorfull national teams in history and what influence the most notorious drug lord had on it being so. With that said, the movie is a bit to long and it loses its pace towards the end but it doesnt change the fact that this is a mesmerizing peek behind the scenes of the drug lord/football partnership which reigned in Colombia!

"The company behind The Two Escobars is ESPN Films, and the influence, coincidentally or not, is tangible." - Chuck Bowen

As an avid soccer fan, I remember the events in the world cup (in the USA) vividly. It is quite interesting to get a look into the (tragic) events behind the Colombian team and its connections with the drug cartels. I had no idea about the depth of these connections and the implications. A must see for any soccer fan!

As a Colombian, it was hard as shit not to burst into tears multiple times throughout The Two Escobars. As a fan of informative, fervent documentaries, it was all too easy to be impressed with this incredible composition of two very seemingly different stories. I'll remember this one forever.

This could've lost 30 minutes easily and the incessant background music drone me to distraction but it's riveting stuff nonetheless as it's pretty recent history

A gripping, unbiased documentary which manages to show the different angles of the drug trade as well as the different sides of the tragic circumstances around the Colombian national football team. A great achievement.

Manages to combine two types of films quite deftly, and expose me to a story that I was completely unaware of.

I would recommend this documentary even if you aren't into soccer, as I am far from a fanatic but found the story completely engrossing from beginning to end.