Reviews of soccer movies and football films
Post-football, Eric Cantona found a new passion and challenge: cinema. 30 years old, he unexpectedly retired from football in 1997. Among other reasons Eric has cited in retrospect: he was tired of playing the game. However, he transitioned to acting as well as beach soccer, popularizing the sport and managing the French beach soccer team for almost 15 years.
Continue reading “Looking for… fanatic football fans (2010-2015)”
With his bald head and authoritative, gnarly New York accent, I sometimes thought I was watching famous US soccer coach Bob Bradley. But no, this film is about Martin Jacobson, an American high school soccer coach who is, in many ways, much more successful.
Continue reading “Review: Coach Jake (2017)”
German fans still recovering from the team’s failure to advance at WC 2018 should return to watching Die Mannschaft. It is a nicely crafted love letter to Joachim Löw and the 2014 German National Team. It is a tribute to German football, showing everything the German Federation (DFB) did to optimize the team to win WC 2014.
Continue reading “Review: Die Mannschaft (2014)”
Directors and brothers Christopher and Alex Browne filmed After the Cup: Sons of Sakhnin United during the 2004-05 season. Almost 15 years have passed since the events were recorded, but judging from more recent soccer movies such as Forever Pure, life has changed very little for Arabs in Israel. Israeli Arabs (Palestinians) remain second-class citizens, and Arabic players are still subjected to hostilities from fanatic Jews, such as the fans of Beitar Jerusalem.
Continue reading “[Review] After the Cup: Sons of Sakhnin United (2009)”
Soccer decision makers, fans, and parents who don’t understand how our sport works in America should watch The Anderson Monarchs. Writer-Director Eugene Martin captures, in a decidedly upbeat way, the commitment required to sustain a unique, inner city, all-African-American, girls soccer team in Philadelphia.
Continue reading “Review: The Anderson Monarchs (2012)”
The documentary Bobby (aka Bo66y) is a tribute film to Bobby Moore, who captained England to its only World Cup title in 1966. The film was produced by BBC and Sky sports presenter Matt Lorenzo to coincide with the 50th anniversary.
Continue reading “Review: Bobby (2016)”
I don’t normally review biographical documentaries, because they tend to be marketing vehicles more than, well, documentaries. Becoming Zlatan (Den unge Zlatan) is an exception and worth your time if you are a fan of Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Continue reading “Review: Becoming Zlatan (2015)”
You might summarize Futbolistas 4 Life as an inspirational example of resilience. But you’d be selling it short. You would miss the fact that bringing this engaging short documentary to theaters required the right stuff in every essence of its being.
Now that WC 2018 has finished in Russia (Congratulations to Les Bleus!), the eyes of the world turn to WC 2022 in Qatar. But as happened with Russia, the eyes of football fans are blind to the exploitation and corruption that FIFA has facilitated for these two tournaments. The Workers Cup might open your eyes a little, but to me, Adam Sobel’s film normalizes the conditions in Qatar. Continue reading “Review: The Workers Cup (2017)”
American Fútbol is like a playful combination of Anthony Bourdain style and Pelada, sampling the food, absorbing a little culture and history, and playing pickup soccer with fans in 8 countries. Continue reading “Review: American Fútbol (2018)”