Tag: R7
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‘Dennis Viollet: A United Man’ (2016) and a Busby Babe survivor
Rachel Viollet’s documentary may have started as a memorial to her father, Dennis Viollet of Manchester United fame. But as she conducted interviews and collected history, her film also became an intriguing record of how the soccer world changed around him and because of him.
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A Chilean, Peruvian and Argentine meet cute in ‘Lusers’ (2015)
Lusers is a delightful comedy of cultural differences as strangers from 3 countries travel the Amazon basin to the WC 2014 final in Brazil. Each of the trio (a Chilean, a Peruvian and an Argentine) is escaping a personal problem (thus a loser), but the trip presents even more challenges. They wreck their vehicle, are…
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Every sport parent should watch ‘Concussion’ (2015)
This is a public service announcement. Concussion is not a soccer movie, but every soccer parent should watch it. Writer-Director Peter Landesman used to be an investigative reporter, and he brings that kind of intensity to his film. No one watching this movie can stay in denial about the long-term effects of TBI – Traumatic…
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‘Inshallah, Football’ (2010) explains India’s Kashmiri situation
Inshallah, Football touched me, but I wasn’t sure why I felt that way. The answer was so complex, it took me 3 days to research and understand Director Ashvin Kumar’s persuasive documentary about the decades of conflict in Indian administered Kashmir, aka Jammu and Kashmir.
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![[Review] Pelé: Birth of a Legend (2016)](https://soccermoviemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/pele-2016.jpg)
[Review] Pelé: Birth of a Legend (2016)
In their Pelé biopic, Directors Jeffrey and Michael Zimbalist create a loving, lush, and longish ode to the Beautiful Game of Brazil. If you sit back and absorb, there is a lot to enjoy. But it might be the kind of movie that only a soccer fan can love.
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‘Planet FIFA’ (2016) 40 years of corruption in 94 minutes
Thank Jean-Louis Pérez for making this documentary. La Planète FIFA is an easy way to trace 40 years of corruption in 94 minutes. Perez specializes in documentaries that center on money and economics as the root of evil, and FIFA gives him plenty of fertile soil to till.
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US Soccer history should not forget ‘Redemption Song’ (2016)
Redemption Song is an important piece to watch on US soccer and Afro-American history. It is the true story of the Howard University all-black Mens Soccer team, compressed into a woefully short 16 minutes. The team won the 1971 NCAA championship, only to see it perhaps unjustly vacated and the team put on probation. To prove…
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‘In the Game’ (2015) in Chicago
In the Game is a moving ethnographic study that captures both the hope and the hope deferred of girls on a high school soccer team. It is a great video example of how sports, taught by a coach with an unwavering positive attitude, can have a meaningful impact on girls of low-SES (low socioeconomic status).
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Every referee should watch ‘Soccer’s Hard Men’ (1992)
No other soccer film so proudly demonstrates the types of foul play that can end players’ careers or easily result in a mass confrontation. An important archive of English football history, Soccer’s Hard Men is a 1992 film that every referee should watch.
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‘The Brothers Grimsby’ (2016) fight to save an English final
The Brothers Grimsby is a new path for Sacha Baron Cohen. Instead of giving us a narcissistic Borat, Bruno, or Ali G, his Nobby is a likable character: family man, loyal brother, wasted England fan, and unlikely action hero. That is, when Cohen isn’t delivering his usual shtick of male sex organs and anal violation.
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‘Mr. Smith’ (2014) pursued his dream from Portmouth to AUS
In 12 minutes, Jeremy Santolin’s micro-documentary Mr. Smith reveals the dogged path traversed by a player who turned pro at age 27. Matt Smith grew up in the Portsmouth youth system but was cut at age 17.
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Kurdistan’s ‘Baghdad Messi’ (2012) is well-worth your time
Baghdad Messi is a heartbreaking 19 minute short film that recently became available on Amazon Prime. The film was just shy of the final cut of nominees for Live Action Short Film of the 2014 Academy Awards.
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‘Street Soccer: New York’ (2013) specializes in not giving up
At first, I thought Street Soccer: New York was almost too slick, like a pure marketing video for Street Soccer USA (SSUSA). SSUSA hosts the US qualifying tournament for the Homeless World Cup. But then I learned how the film came together.
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Goalkeeping tips from ‘The Goalkeepers’ Union’ (2015)
The Goalkeepers’ Union is an excellent NBCSN documentary from Roger Bennett, the mugging half of Men in Blazers. GKs are in an isolated group who understand what other GKs go through. Bennett asks 4 Premier League GKs all the questions that a mere mortal fan would like to ask:
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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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‘Surviving and Soccer in Sierra Leone’ (2015) – an Ebola story
Erison Turay and his mother lost 38 of their relatives to Ebola in Sierra Leone and were left with 15 family orphans to care for. He and his mother overcame their infections, but survivors cannot find jobs and their struggles to live continue on.
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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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The horror and coverup of ‘Hillsborough’ (2014)
It’s fitting to review the ESPN film Hillsborough today, the 26th anniversary of the April 15, 1989 football stadium disaster where 96 Liverpool fans died from suffocation and crush injuries.
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‘Kicking It’ (2008) an entertaining film that matters
Kicking It is a Ted Leonsis production that tries to influence you to do good while wrapping you up in a good story. It is “filmanthropy”, according to Leonsis, a billionaire sports team owner, philanthropist, former AOL executive, and media maven. Leonsis spotted Director Susan Koch $1 million so that she could follow players in…
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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.
