I've always been very reluctant to watch this movie and there were several reasons for that. First of all, despite the fact that I'm just like the average European young male, I'm far from a soccer fan. It's just not my kind of sports, I prefer car racing. The second reason was the title. Of course I've heard of Beckham before, but despite what all other people think of him, I can only see him as a rather arrogant, often stupid looking guy who happens to be a little bit better in kicking against a black and white leather ball. Nothing special, so why should I want to see a movie that carries his name? Well, now that I've finally seen it, I know why and I also know that it is a shame that I didn't watch it sooner.
This movie tells the story of two young girls that love to play soccer and that have to fight against a lot of prejudices in order to do what they like. Both girls are preparing themselves for one of the most important matches in their lives, hoping to get a transfer to an important American club, at least when they get the opportunity to play. One girl is from Indian origin, of the Sikh faith. Her family has been living in Britain for several years already, but they are very conservative and still very fond of their own traditions. They want their daughters to get married to a good Indian boy, want to see them walk around in traditional clothes and want them to learn how to cook traditional Indian food. When Pinky, one of their daughters, is preparing herself for marriage, but Jessminder, the other daughter, only has soccer on her mind, they feel very uncomfortable with this 'embarassing' situation. The other girl is a white girl. Her dad doesn't mind that she plays soccer, already happy that she isn't bringing one boy after the other home, but her mom is convinced that her daughter is a lesbian. What other girl likes to play football, rather than to go out with her mother to go shopping for clothes?
When you are looking for some very dramatic scenes or a very deep story, than this isn't the movie you should go for. But when you want to have some lighter, but nevertheless very decent entertainment, than this is perhaps THE comedy that you should give a try. Depsite all my prejudices, I admit that I really had a very good time watching this movie. This could easily have become very preachy, telling us how hard life can be when you don't fit in, when you try to be different in the pursuit of your dreams,... I guess that, if this had been a Hollywood production, it would have become some kind of syrupy TV-movie. But the makers of this movie have done a good job, avoiding that obvious trap. The acting in this movie is very good as well. Before this movie I only knew Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Trey Farley and Keira Knightley. And they all did a nice job. But they weren't the only ones. The Indian actors were all very interesting and good as well. Big was also my surprise when I saw the amount of movies Anupam Kher has played a role in (222 at this moment).
I don't know if this is exactly the kind of movie the average (European) soccer fan wants to see. I know that for instance my brother doesn't like it a bit. He's a real soccer fan and he still sees it as a game for men, rather than one that can be played by women as well. And he's probably not the only one with that opinion, so I doubt if it will appeal to that kind of people. However, when you are interested in the habits and traditions of foreign cultures, if you want to have a good laugh and don't mind the fact that this isn't exactly the most profound of all stories, than this is a movie you shouldn't miss. I certainly had a very good time with it and that's why I give it a 7.5/10.
This movie tells the story of two young girls that love to play soccer and that have to fight against a lot of prejudices in order to do what they like. Both girls are preparing themselves for one of the most important matches in their lives, hoping to get a transfer to an important American club, at least when they get the opportunity to play. One girl is from Indian origin, of the Sikh faith. Her family has been living in Britain for several years already, but they are very conservative and still very fond of their own traditions. They want their daughters to get married to a good Indian boy, want to see them walk around in traditional clothes and want them to learn how to cook traditional Indian food. When Pinky, one of their daughters, is preparing herself for marriage, but Jessminder, the other daughter, only has soccer on her mind, they feel very uncomfortable with this 'embarassing' situation. The other girl is a white girl. Her dad doesn't mind that she plays soccer, already happy that she isn't bringing one boy after the other home, but her mom is convinced that her daughter is a lesbian. What other girl likes to play football, rather than to go out with her mother to go shopping for clothes?
When you are looking for some very dramatic scenes or a very deep story, than this isn't the movie you should go for. But when you want to have some lighter, but nevertheless very decent entertainment, than this is perhaps THE comedy that you should give a try. Depsite all my prejudices, I admit that I really had a very good time watching this movie. This could easily have become very preachy, telling us how hard life can be when you don't fit in, when you try to be different in the pursuit of your dreams,... I guess that, if this had been a Hollywood production, it would have become some kind of syrupy TV-movie. But the makers of this movie have done a good job, avoiding that obvious trap. The acting in this movie is very good as well. Before this movie I only knew Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Trey Farley and Keira Knightley. And they all did a nice job. But they weren't the only ones. The Indian actors were all very interesting and good as well. Big was also my surprise when I saw the amount of movies Anupam Kher has played a role in (222 at this moment).
I don't know if this is exactly the kind of movie the average (European) soccer fan wants to see. I know that for instance my brother doesn't like it a bit. He's a real soccer fan and he still sees it as a game for men, rather than one that can be played by women as well. And he's probably not the only one with that opinion, so I doubt if it will appeal to that kind of people. However, when you are interested in the habits and traditions of foreign cultures, if you want to have a good laugh and don't mind the fact that this isn't exactly the most profound of all stories, than this is a movie you shouldn't miss. I certainly had a very good time with it and that's why I give it a 7.5/10.