SoccerMovieMom

Over 450 reviews

The Golden Ball (1994) - Le Ballon d'Or

In Guinea, a small boy triumphs with ‘The Golden Ball’ (1994)

—

by

MJ-A
in , ,

The Ballon d’Or is an annual award in the shape of a golden soccer ball that recognizes the best footballer in the world. In the village of Makono in Guinea, boys imagine that such a golden ball is magical and will bring great fortune. But when a kind doctor gives Bandian a real soccer ball and he paints it gold, it leads him to a series of misadventures where only his self-belief can save him.

A synopsis of the story

Pardon, but here is a synopsis of Le Ballon d’Or (The Golden Ball).

Bandian and his brother collect wood and steal chickens to pay Sara, the local one-eyed priest, for talismans and potions to make Bandian run fast like Roger Milla. He is the best player in the village. Mrs Aspirin (Agnès Soral) of Doctors without Borders gives Bandian a used ball, which he paints gold. But the little fellow accidentally kicks the ball at the blacksmith, setting the man’s straw hut on fire.

Fearing his father’s wrath, Bandian runs away with his golden ball, hitches a ride, has an overnight adventure guarding a truck, and ends up in the village of Kissidougou. There, the referee for an adult game in progress wants to borrow Bandian’s ball, but he insists only if he is allowed to play. A white man, Bechir, sees the child and films him in action as he scores 2 goals.

But the truck driver also sees Bandian and chases him for having abandoned the truck. However, Bandian spots Mrs Aspirin, dives into her car, and asks her to take him to Conakry, the capital, where his adult sister Fanta (Mariam Kaba) lives. They arrange to meet up on Sunday and return home.

But in Conakry, Bandian ends up apprenticing with Bangoura, who treats his many boys like slave labor as they collect cow’s horns from the slaughter house and turn them into lamps. The boys bully Bandian, but he is befriended by a cagey “city dwarf” named Bouba (Aboubacar Koita). Together, they sneak into a stadium to watch a game from a high light tower. The game ball is kicked onto the stadium roof, and Bandian juggles the ball for the whole stadium to see.

For this, Bandian and Bouba are thrown in jail. But the white man Bechir (Habib Hammoud) was at the stadium and recognizes the boy from the village game. He gets the two out of jail, and eventually they meet up with Mrs Aspirin and Fanta. Bechir arranges for the boy to tryout for Coach Karim’s soccer school, but Mrs Aspirin insists the boy is too young and should go home. However, Fanta tells her “One does not waste such an opportunity in Africa”.

Bandian is accepted into the school, but again he is bullied by the other boys. However, Coach Karim (Salif Keita) knows what is going on and tells the players they must all accept him. Bouba also tries to keep Bandian’s spirits up. His constant tormentor is the rival forward Touré, who challenges him to a juggling duel.

After 6 months, the school has a big game versus the Castors of Kindia. It is a big game attended by members of the Federation, and Bechir pays an opposing player to take out Touré. Bandian subs in and scores. After the game, Coach Karim tells him the #10 jersey is his.

1 year later, Bechir receives an offer for Bandian from Saint-Étienne for 2M guinea francs (10k french francs) and 5 years of training. Bechir has said that Bandian is 16 years old, though he is really not quite 12. Coach Karim disapproves, as he has already said that he is a coach and not a slave trader. Mrs Aspirin also disapproves because Bandian is too young. But sister Fanta says so much money would buy a lot of cows. The father says that whether Bandian is in Conakry or France, he will not see his son.

The film ends with Bandian arriving in France by himself and taking a taxi to the Saint-Étienne stadium.

There is a 5-minute unauthorized video synopsis of the film, set to music with no dialog, here

Africa and the soccer

This film was made in 1994, so it is a bit of a time capsule of village and urban life back then. Back then, the film was considered uplifting for showing a little boy’s resilience in pursuing his dream, and how much luck played into it. So perhaps all those talismans paid off.

But for me, it was a little disheartening to see so much victimization and how much Africa was (is?) a place of survival. It is also interesting to see the only 2 white people portrayed as either saints (Mrs Aspirin) or somewhat evil opportunists (Bechir). Although Bechir — who sells fish, videotapes, and footballers — says that he too is African, he treats his employees like brainless children and views his lies as ambition.

The soccer is entertaining, and the skill of Aboubacar Sidiki Sumah is impressive. Born in Burkina Faso, he was apparently selected out of 3,000 children. He gave an interview in 2002, where he said he was interested in becoming a footballer, a filmmaker, or a sports reporter, but I could find no further info about him.

The story is based in part on the youth of Salif Keita, who plays Coach Karim. Keita was born in Mali and arrived at Saint-Étienne at 16, with the same taxi cab experience as depicted in the film. He went on to win Africa’s ballon d’or and eventually became president of Mali’s Federation.

In Conclusion

Like many African narratives, the plot can be confusing because little side stories or events are thrown into the film seemingly without reason. The one persistent thing that maintains the plot is Bandian’s determination and resilience. In that sense, it is an uplifting tale. But the reality is that, sending an 11 year old alone to compete in a European academy would have an unhappy ending. While sports bodies are trying to put an end to it, the case remains that sending African footballers to Europe can be modern slave trade. See Ed Hawkins’ excellent 2015 book “The Lost Boys: Inside Football’s Slave Trade”. So view this film with a little caution, but otherwise The Golden Ball, aka Le Ballon d’Or, is an uplifting tale of determination and resilience.

8 Soccer Movie Mom Rating = 8

Resources: