Variety review by John Anderson
The sports doc can be a dogpile of cliches and conventions, and in defying most of them, helmer Eugene Martin makes "The Anderson Monarchs" one of the more memorable and refreshing entries in the very genre it's busy bending like Beckham. The story of an all African-American South Philadelphia girls' soccer team, the pic strives for tone, mood and emotion rather than making a sales pitch about its subjects. Marketing will be tough, but finding it a prominent slot wouldn't be the worst decision "POV" ever made. Festival play should be robust as well.
The film compares more than favorably with last year's Oscar-winning docu "Undefeated," and comparisons will be inevitable. The Monarchs -- based in crime-ridden South Philly, and named for pioneering opera star Marian Anderson -- are a black team with a white coach, Walter Stewart. They practice on scrubby city fields that seem mostly devoid of vegetation. Their rivals are not only better equipped, but generally don't have to...
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