The best thing Iñárritu did during 2010 was…

…not Biutiful.

It was Write The Future, the Nike commercial/short film that got massively popular during the 2010 FIFA World Cup last year and won the Film Grand Prix award at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity this year.

The premise of Write The Future is very simple: one goal can change everything and any football player can become a hero in his nation’s eyes and rise as a top star… or they could end up being the villain. Alejandro González Iñárritu illustrated this perfectly. He took commercials and advertising to a level never seen before in bold, spectacular fashion with his usual storytelling method. At the same time, he captured the spirit, passion, unity, hype, hope and power that comes along with the world’s biggest sporting event in a short film/commercial. It instantly pumps you up to the rhythm of Netherland’s Focus’ Hocus Pocus [1] and shows an insane excitement for the World Cup in a way you have never seen.

The strongest part of the short involves England’s Wayne Rooney, who will either end up living in a trailer located somewhere reminiscent of Amores Perros when Franck Ribery blocks his pass or get English babies named after him if he fixes his mistake. Imagine your fate changing instantly with one move. Imagine how powerful that one move can be. Just think about it.

The only flaw in Iñárritu’s phenomenal masterpiece is thanks to an external factor that brands and ad agencies can’t control. This bit highlights the viral aspect of the World Cup — Brazil’s Ronaldinho not being selected to participate at the tournament. This ultimately makes the commercial feel a bit dated . However, that moment was quickly addressed with a clip involving Robinho’s future.

While I’ve seen films release exciting, adrenaline-pumped trailers, I can’t say the same for most television shows — except for cable channels like HBO. Granted, most tv channels don’t count on Nike’s budget to produce these trailers. But Iñárritu can pull off bold, ambitious projects with lesser money — I can also recall Warner Channel Latin America hyping tv shows better than most American channels, but that’s another topic for another day.

One last salivating thought about this amazing Mexican director: if he ever decides to create a television series (very unlikely), it better be on HBO.