Wanted: Roni Kalderon is a fascinating documentary film by Hilla Medalia and Erez Laufer. The film follows the extraordinary story of Roni Kalderon like a thriller, from his early days in the 1970s as a 17-year-old rising star, playing for the Hapoel Tel Aviv soccer team till his disappearance from a prison in Sao Paulo in the 1990s.
Much of the
soundtrack of the film is Kalderon’s voice recorded by Israeli journalist, Rafi
Reshef, who traveled all the way to a Sao Paulo prison in 1992 to interview
him. The story goes back to the 1970s,
to a young man, described as a troublemaker, moving from team to team,
partying, and clubbing. He loved the
thrills, the fooling around, and eventually got involved with drugs.
When
Kalderon is recruited to play for Ajax in the Netherlands, he is forced to
endure a one-year ban since a player can’t just go off and play for another
team. He was only 18 years-old at the
time. Soon after, he returns to Israel
and helps the Tel Aviv youth team win the Asian cup. Then begins a period of moving from team to
team – first to Ajax’s biggest rival, Rotterdam, then Paris, back to Israel to
Hapoel’s rival, Beitar, then Ramat Gan.
By the 1980s
he was caught for trafficking in heroin, and imprisoned in Israel. After that, there are many more surprises in
his life’s journey.
Wanted: Roni Kalderon (documentary,
92 minutes) is a well-developed film, with lots of twists and turns. We encounter people from his past, including
his Brazilian wife, his two brothers, and his soccer companions. We finally
feel that we know this extraordinary, charming, and extremely popular character.
The film is
available from Nahum Laufer at laufern@netvision.net.il
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