Guys are getting their kicks

Cannes 2008 is turning into a bad-boys convention. First was the collaboration between Mike Tyson and James Toback, and now, “Maradona by Kusturica,” a fan’s-notes film about the great Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona by the two-time Palme d’Or-winning Serbian director Emir Kusturica. The film includes vintage clips of some of Maradona’s astonishing goals, which lead the director to call him “the Sex Pistol of international football.” This film also offers a glimpse into the intensity of the admiration Maradona inspires. We hear about the Church of Maradona and get a look inside what the press notes describe as “the legendary Cocodrilo, a lap-dancing bordello sponsored by the Maradonian Church.” You heard it first here.

-- Kenneth Turan