Tag: R7
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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.
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‘United’ (2011) how ManU continued after Munich
United tells the story of the 1958 Munich air disaster involving ManU’s young team known as Busby’s Babes. Trying to take off in a snowstorm, the plane ran out of runway, hit a house, and was torn apart.
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‘The Four Year Plan’ (2011) may make you hate QPR
If you watched the end of the 2011-2012 EPL season, you saw the spoiler role QPR almost played in Manchester City’s league championship. And if that were all you knew about Queens Park Rangers, you would have assumed The Four Year Plan was some kind of feel-good Moneyball success story. It’s not.
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Football trafficking in ‘Soccer’s Lost Boys’ (2010)
Soccer’s Lost Boys is an evocative documentary about soccer trafficking in Africa. Vanguard correspondent Mariana van Zeller interviews players, parents, and coaches to show how West African families hand over life savings to agents who promise a tryout in Europe.
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‘One Night in Turin’ (2010) so vivid it makes people cry again
I imagine One Night in Turin is very difficult to watch if you were an England fan during their semi-final shoot-out loss to West Germany in World Cup 1990. Writer-Director James Erskine captures the many emotions and struggles of the country, the coach, the team (including Paul Gascoigne), and its fans. Apparently for some, this…
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See what it takes to be a FIFA referee in ‘Les Arbitres’ (2009)
Les Arbitres (The Referees) is a French documentary that follows several referees during Euro 2008. Much like the French movie about Zidane, there is no voice over or commentary to the footage as you watch and listen to the communication headsets of top referees while they work the games.
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Review: ‘Once in a Lifetime – NY Cosmos’ (2006)
If you care about the biz side of the MLS, and you didn’t experience the NASL, you need to watch Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos. This 2006 documentary reveals the marketing manipulations and public excitement behind the 1970s New York Cosmos.
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‘Offside’ (2006) – what if women could attend a game in Iran?
In the USA, we take our freedoms for granted, but what if we, as women, were not allowed to enter a stadium? Offside takes place at an actual 2006 World Cup qualifying match in Tehran, where women disguise themselves to get in.
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Review: ‘The Year My Parents Went on Vacation’ (2006)
In the touching drama, The Year My Parents Went on Vacation, 1970 is the year of the triumph of Pelé and one of Brazil’s greatest teams. But “on vacation” is an activist euphemism for going on the lam to avoid arrest and torture by Brazil’s ruling military dictatorship.
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‘Johan’ (2005) finds love despite 10 footballing brothers
Johan is a very enjoyable dramedy/romance that, in a gentle way, shows that soccer is just a game, even in the Netherlands. The youngest in a family of 11 soccer-obsessed Dutch boys and their father, Johan doesn’t fit in because his obsession is music.
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If Jurgen Klinsmann preferred ‘Guys and Balls’ (2004)
This German soccer movie, Guys and Balls, is predictable but very cute. Ecki, a small-town goalkeeper and baker, is kicked off his semi-pro team for being gay. In defiance, he organizes an all-gay team to play against his former team in their home stadium, resulting in a nice strike against homophobia.
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Young monks get to watch ‘The Cup’ (1999)
You don’t expect much to happen in a Buddhist monastery. So it is not surprising that Phörpa (The Cup) is very slow paced. A spirited young soccer-obsessed monk defies the monastery’s way of life in order to watch World Cup 1998. But the abbot, although he does not understand why men fight over a ball…
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‘The Match’ (1999) a small but classic underdog soccer movie
The Match is a sweet spin on the underdog theme. The story is set in a picturesque Scottish village, the teams represent two pubs in a 100-year competition, and this is the year that winner takes all.
