Tag: No Trailer
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Review: ‘The Gentlemen’s League 2’ (2021)
The USA is not a world power in football, ostensibly because our best athletes play where the money is: football, basketball, and baseball. For years, American fans have lamented, “What if our best athletes played soccer?” In a delightful and amusing series, The Gentlemen’s League provides an answer from South Korea.
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‘Captains of Zaatari’ (2021) raises awareness
Imagine a film where Cinderella goes to the ball, has her magical moment, and then returns to the cinders to make the best of her life as a servant to a cruel family. If you know Cinderella, you know she is resilient, and she will keep singing and will find friendly relationships to sustain her,…
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‘Elite School’ (2014) a view of a German football academy
A Kaderschmiede is an elite training center, school, or academy, and in the case of Karlsruher SC, its purpose is to create a cadre of skilled footballers. Writer-Director Juana Guschl followed the club’s youth players for the 2013-2014 season and submitted this film for graduation from the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg in 2014.
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‘Jason Marriner – Football Hooligan’ (2009) and one man show
Is there life after football hooliganism? This short documentary on Jason Marriner tells us, if nothing else, that hooligans retain many fond memories, most of which as perpetrators they can’t really talk about on screen. And the other reason they can’t talk about it is because they want you to read their book instead.
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Teen Voice – ‘Yellow Cards for Equal Pay’ (2020)
It is unbelievable to me that this story and its background were captured by a young soccer player. Being a long-time filmmaker since age 13, Maia Vota created this short film as a high school senior. Soccer movie fans should watch this 11-minute film for that fact alone, but you should really watch it because…
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’13 Lost: The Untold Story of the Thai Cave Rescue’ (2020)
13 Lost is a documentary about the unsung diving team that defied life-threatening conditions to lay the line to rescue the Wild Boars soccer team in the Thai cave rescue. This gripping film shows the bravery and calmness of these men under duress, and the technical expertise that kept them alive. Aug-2022 Note: Click this…
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‘Egaro’ (2011) a Bengali team chooses football over terrorism
The footballing film Egaro (এগারো) takes place in British India in 1911. Subjugated by the English, Bengali natives are second-class citizens in their own country. Some try to succeed by working within the British system, while some are beaten and murdered by police. Some rebel with acts of terrorism.
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‘Thai Cave Rescue’ (2018) seals our faith in humanity
This is the first of several films and documentaries about the dramatic Thai Cave Rescue that gripped the world in June-July, 2018. Director Tom Stubberfield presents all the facts of the story for PBS’s Nova TV series, narrated by Eric Meyers.
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A magical football match in ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks’ (1971)
Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks is not a soccer movie, but should be watched for its engaging 10-minute animation of a football game. Like all Disney animations, the quality is so good that the 50 year old film remains on par with today’s technology.
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‘Looking for…’ fanatic football fans (2010-2015)
Post-football, Eric Cantona found a new passion and challenge: cinema. At 30 years old, he unexpectedly retired from football in 1997. Among 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…
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‘Shoot’ (2018): an Arab-Arabian football story
Shoot languished in my Amazon Prime watchlist because I assumed it was just another foreign film. So I was quite surprised when I started watching it, and almost the first words on the screen were “The first Saudi-American film”.
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Review: ‘I Scored a Goal in the FIFA World Cup Final’ (2010)
I Scored a Goal in the FIFA World Cup Final is such a hokey title, that I thought this film must be a spoof. But no, it is an ESPN compilation of interviews of the then 33 remaining players who had actually done the deed, up through WC 2010.
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‘Boh Ngau’ (1983) predates Shaolin Soccer by 20 years
Boh Ngau (The Champions) is a hidden gem of a football comedy, combining soccer with the formulaic plot of a Hong Kong kung fu flick. I was shocked to realize it pre-dates Shaolin Soccer by almost 20 years, and yet it has an impressive level of soccer skill without any CGI.
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Tibet is ‘The Forbidden Team’ (2003) in FIFA
A Dane who spent time in a Tibetan monastery, Michael Nybrandt realizes his dream to organize an international match between Tibet and Greenland. Neither team is recognized by FIFA. China tries to block the game because Tibet is part of China. Greenland’s own application to join FIFA could be jeopardized by playing.
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‘American Pharaoh’ (2014) too often feels like a home movie
American Pharaoh is Hossam Aboul-Magd’s first shot at directing and is a 60 minute documentary for PBS. Hossam is a one-man film crew, following Bradley and his wife Lindsay during their 2 year residency in Cairo. He became their friend, and perhaps that is why the film is so weak.
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The 99ers and their ‘Dare to Dream’ (2005)
The HBO documentary Dare to Dream: The Story of the US Womens Soccer Team faithfully captures the build up and heartbreak that is US Soccer’s Womens National Team (USWNT). If you are a fan, you need to watch this film. If you watched it when it first came out in 2005 (like I did), you…
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The no-talent path to becoming ‘El Crack’ (2011)
With absurdist humor, Chileano Writer-Director Nicolás López delivers a Southpark-like tale in El Crack. Freddy (Ariel Levy), who calls himself Mr. Fantasia, fancies himself a top forward with fame in his future. But the only reason he gets any playing time is because his wife murders his competitors.
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‘Yesterday’s Hero’ (1979) Football meets Suzanne Somers
Rod Turner (Ian McShane) is Yesterday’s Hero, a former big soccer star and womanizer drinking his way to the end of his career. The pop star owner of the third division Saints signs him for the semi-final game of the League Cup over the protestations of the team Manager.
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‘Pilkarski Poker’ (1989) how to bribe Polish referees
In Pilkarski Poker (aka Soccer Poker), Laguna is a former star player who has risen to the top of the referee ranks despite his drinking. A co-op of owners bribe him to make calls that will ensure which team will win the premier league and which will be relegated. But Laguna hasn’t taken bribes before,…
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‘Garrincha, Lonely Star’ (2003) wasn’t all that lonely
Manuel Francisco dos Santos, commonly known as Mané Garrincha, was second only to Pelé as one of Brazil’s greatest players. Garrincha – Estrela Solitária is a docudrama that shows his dribbling flair on the field and his sexual exploits.
