Soccer Movies

Discussion in 'Business and Media' started by mjlee22, Aug 10, 2011.

  1. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm trying to watch all the soccer movies that are on Netflix and was surprised that there wasn't already a thread to discuss them. I saw a blog posting from 2010 but I'd rather see a movie title per reply.

    Make sense? Is it okay to post this here? Give it a go? or give up?
     
  2. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Guys and Balls - 2004

    "Guys and Balls", a 2004 German soccer movie, 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. Maximilian Brückner, who plays Ecki the GK, looks quite a bit like Steven Lenhart.

    Here's the trailer. Netflix has the DVD.
    http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2410348825/

    In German with English sub-titles. Soccer is not authentic, but the player enthusiasm is.
     
  3. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie- 30 or 30: The Two Escobars - 2010

    For its 30th anniversary, ESPN ran with the idea of producing 30 documentaries of intriguing sports stories by 30 respected filmmakers who also happened to be sports nuts.

    "30 for 30: The Two Escobars" is the fascinating story of Andrés Escobar and Pablo Escobar, unrelated. Andrés, captain of the Colombian national team, gave up the own goal against the USA in the 1994 World Cup and was shot to death 10 days later in his hometown. Pablo Escobar was a ruthless Columbian druglord, but also a huge soccer fan, who helped bring Columbian soccer to world prominence. Many Columbian club teams were owned by druglords as a way to launder money.

    http://30for30.espn.com/film/the-two-escobars.html

    Try to rent the DVD from Netflix, because one of the extra features is a short documentary following the USMNT on their 1994 bus ride to fame. It's fun to watch the young John Harkes, Eric Wynalda, and Alexi Lalas mug it up for the camera.

    FYI, now I realize that Pablo Escobar was the model for the character Ernesto Escobedo, the Columbian druglord in the Harrison Ford movie "Clear and Present Danger".
     
  4. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Gracie - 2007

    Gracie is one of the few fictional movies where the director and producer work hard to make the soccer look authentic. It's the story of a soccer-crazed family whose first born son dies in high school, so his younger sister Gracie tries to take his place on the boys' soccer field. In the 70's in New Jersey, that meant invoking Title 9 to be allowed to play.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441007/

    Conceived by Andrew Shue (Melrose Place actor and former MLS Galaxy player), the movie is a family-produced affair with famed sister Elizabeth Shue as the mom, and her husband Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) directing. The Title 9 part is loosely based on Ms Shue's life in that she played on a boys team from age 9-13. ...I always wondered how she could juggle a ball in "Karate Kid".

    The DVD includes a "making of" piece that shows how the soccer choreographer and the director create a realistic high school soccer scene. It's obvious this movie was made by people who really love the game. Even Dermot Mulrooney knows how to play. And this is the first fictional soccer movie I've seen where the referee is actually wearing a soccer referee jersey (but no badge).

    So, two points for authenticity, but as a movie, it's not compelling stuff ...but still ok to put on your soccer movie bucket list.
     
  5. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Offside - 2006

    We take our MLS games for granted, but what if we, as women, were not allowed to enter the stadium? The story takes place at a match in Tehran, where Iran eventually qualifies for the 2006 World Cup. Women may not enter the stadium, but some disguise themselves to get in. A half-dozen are arrested and held in a makeshift pen during the game.

    http://www.phase9.tv/movies/offside.shtml

    Why is this movie so compelling? Because it is a simple story of women trying to pursue something about which they are passionate, and which the authorities withhold from them for illogical reasons.

    In Farsi with English subtitles. It makes you appreciate an MLS game.
     
  6. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Pele O'Rey - 1962 or 2004

    "O Rei Pelé", or Pelé the King, is available in DVD format on Netflix, where it is listed as published in 2004. However, IMDB lists this movie as produced in 1962. 1962 is probably the accurate date because the DVD looks like it is a copy of an old videotape.

    http://movies.netflix.com/Movie/Pele-O-Rey/70028200?trkid=496751

    As I didn't become a soccer fan until 1999, I had never seen Pele play except for in the movie "Victory". So this documentary is a good resource, showing his life and many goals. I think one of the reasons Pele was so good for his time is because his thighs were probably twice the size of everyone else's, even though he is only around 5'7". Plus, obviously very coordinated, athletic, and quick feet. You can understand the comparisons to Messi (except for the thighs).

    In Spanish with English subtitles.
     
  7. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Kicking It - 2008

    The documentary "Kicking It" follows several players and teams at the 2006 Homeless World Cup held in South Africa. Players must stay clean to participate, and it's inspiring to see how playing a sport can motivate men, no matter the age or how far they have fallen. Well done and entertaining.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1157668/

    Some of you may know that Chris Wondolowski recently became the National Ambassador for Street Soccer USA, who is sending a team to the Homeless World Cup in Paris Aug 21-29, 2011.

    http://streetsoccerusa.org/press_and_media/Wondo
     
  8. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal - 2007

    In some ways, "Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal" takes "Bend it Like Beckham" a few steps further. Set in England, a South Asian community has a struggling semi-pro football team. They need to win the league or the stadium will be sold for redevelopment. Their star is enticed to play for their better all-white rivals but encounters racism. He returns to his homees and saves the stadium. Lots of singing and dancing ensue.

    Like BILB, this movie gives insight into the Hindu community in Britain, although the tone on discrimination is handled with a heavier hand. The movie is really long--162 minutes--and breaks into singing and dancing that have nothing to do with the story. I guess that's Bollywood for you. It's pretty obvious the star can't play soccer. Like BILB, don't watch this for the soccer. Watch it for your cultural education.

    You can stream it on Netflix:
    http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Dhan-Dhana-Dhan-Goal/70084775?trkid=438403

    In Hindi with some English dialogue. English subtitles.
     
  9. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Once in a Lifetime - 2006

    If you care about the biz side of the MLS, and you didn't experience the NASL (as I didn't), you need to watch "Once in a Lifetime: The Story of the New York Cosmos". This 2006 documentary explains the marketing manipulations (e.g. spray-painting the grass field green) and public excitement behind the 1970s NY Cosmos. Nesuhi Ertegün and his brother Ahmet Ertegün convinced Warner Communications CEO Steve Ross to invest heavily in the Cosmos and bring in all the stars (deja vu today's NY Red Bulls and LA Galaxy). Ross pulled the plug after the USA was unable to get the 1986 World Cup.

    One of the funniest parts is Shep Messing talking about his nude centerfold, "gaining exposure" for the Cosmos.

    http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Once_in_a_Lifetime/70052416?trkid=2361638

    I streamed the movie, but according to a post on Amazon, the extras on the DVD are not compelling.
     
  10. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Fever Pitch - 1997

    Funny how British soccer movies analyze the game's joyless effect on its fans, in minute detail. I watched 3 of them in 2 days and realized that deep-down, the Brits hate soccer! Or at least, British screenwriters do. Plus, all 3 movies have terrible cinematography.

    Fever Pitch is taken from Nick Hornby's first novel and stars Colin Firth, who excels at playing men who suffer largely because of their own shortcomings. Firth is a 30ish teacher whose 2 decades of Arsenal fan worship have replaced his need for a father, a family, or any interest in his job. But though Arsenal has been a constant disappointment during those years, the 1989 season changes his life.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119114/

    This movie is pretty slow. To my mind, it's neither a comedy nor a romance, but a character study of a depressed fan. Interestingly, they depict what it was like to be in the claustrophobic, flesh-pressing SRO section of the stadium. That season was the year of the Hillsborough disaster.

    Frankly, Jimmy Fallon's 2005 Boston Red Sox version of the Fever Pitch uber fan is alot more fun to watch than this movie.
     
  11. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: The Art of Soccer with John Cleese - 2006

    Variously named as the The Art of Soccer with John Cleese or the Art of Football from A to Z, it appears this film was commissioned by Germany for WC 2006. John Cleese pontificates on 26 alphabetical aspects of the game. On the DVD, each alpha-attribute is clickable.

    Below is his explanation of Offside, which could be useful for a referee class:
    http://www.ocule.com/documentaries/the-art-of-football/

    I wouldn't say this movie is hilarious--not in any American sense of the word. Some of the game footage is interesting, especially the Letter N. This film, made for TV, has that annoying ET format of filming opinions of celebrities unassociated with the game, such as Dennis Hopper, Henry Kissinger, musicians and artists. I suppose it's to show how soccer is art. But it would be like hearing Rachel Ray talk about how soccer is food for the soul. Fortunately the film doesn't go that far!

    I enjoyed John Cleese's definition of the 3 criteria to be a football pundit:
    - you need to have an inexhaustible supply of cliches,
    - an inability to speak without shouting, and
    - absolutely no dress sense and an ability to make the word goal last longer than anybody could want it to last.

    Here are the letters:
    A=Art, B=Biz or Ball (I forget), C=Creativity, D=Defense, E=Economics are Everything, F=Fouls, G=Goal celebration, H=Hollywood (acting/diving), I=Icon worship, J=Journalists, K=Keeper, L=Luck, M=Monty Python, N=No good, O=Offside, P=Playmaker, Q=Quantum Physics, R=Referees, S=Football Supporters, T=Trainer/Coach, U=Urine test, V=Villian/Violent Psychopathic Cheat, W=Women in football, X=Xenophobia, Y=Youth, Z=Zeitgeist

    All the interviews are conducted in the language of the interviewees, which include Kaka, Pele, Ballach, Birgit, Van Nistelroy, Keller, Beckenbauer, etc.

    Enjoy the film!
     
  12. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: The Football Factory - 2004

    I almost never watch war movies or dramas, but in my quest, I streamed the 2004 British movie "The Football Factory" on Netflix. It was like watching a war movie without weapons. The supporters clubs of the EPL are portrayed as men in gangs looking for fights. They snort white and brown stuff all the time. They live for the away game as a chance to invade an enemy's territory and beat them in hand-to-hand combat.

    I don't know how much this movie reflects real life, but I could see how disaffected people like this could have participated in the recent riots across England.

    http://www.netflix.com/Search?v1=football+factory

    BTW, there is no soccer in this movie.
     
  13. Roger Allaway

    Roger Allaway Member+

    Apr 22, 2009
    Warminster, Pa.
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Soccer Movie: Once in a Lifetime - 2006

    This boldfaced item is a myth. By the time of that FIFA decision on the 1986 World Cup, on May 20, 1983, the plug had already been pulled, and not by Ross. It had been taken out of his hands by economic forces.

    In December 1982, the video-games market, which had been Warner Communications' cash cow, collapsed. Warner lost $417 million in 1983. During the second quarter of 1983, the one when that FIFA decision happened, Warner lost $283 million, after having made $68 million in that quarter the year before. Between December 1982 and its 1983 low, Warner's stock price dropped by more than 60 percent.

    When the Cosmos played their first game of the 1983 NASL season, on April 24, 1983, their lineup didn't include a single player who hadn't played for them in 1982. Their runaway spending had already been stopped by the financial disaster that Warner was suffering.
     
  14. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: The Match - 1999

    Also known as The Beautiful Game, this is a sweet spin on the classic sports movie plot of inept-team-triumphs-over-elite-bad-guys-after-inspirational-speech. In this case, 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.

    For such a seemingly small film, it includes a number of big-time actors who contribute good performances: Richard E Grant, Ian Holm, Tom Sizemore, and Pierce Brosnan. For some reason, the British reviews of this movie are quite harsh. But the soccer is good (tho minimal), the story is well-told, and the cinematography is excellent. It is one of the better soccer movies I've seen.

    Stream it on Netflix:
    http://www.netflix.com/Movie/The-Match/70181827
     
  15. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Soccer Stories - 1997

    "Soccer Stories", or "Historias de Futbol" consists of 3 short stories set in Chile, but none of them are worth your time. As soon as it was over, I rushed to put the DVD back in the netflix envelope. Put together by a young Chileno director who studied cinema in New York, the stories have no point. The production values are so minimal, there is no sense of the location other than that people are very poor and the towns are practically deserted. The main characters in each story are without purpose and unsympathetic. All the women are either prostitutes or unfulfilled. The title of this movie should be "Soccer Babel".

    Although netflix lists this movie as 2004, the DVD says it was released in 1997.
    http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Soccer-Stories/70045023
     
  16. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: La Gran Final (The Great Match) - 2006

    Soccer cannot unite the world. But for a few hours, the motivation to watch a game allows people to set aside their differences. La Gran Final is a triptych of disappearing cultures joining with the modern forces that swallow them, to watch the WC2000 Final of Germany-Brazil with great enthusiasm.

    In Niger, fans get off a "bus" to join Tuareg camel nomads; they use a metal tree as an antenna in the middle of the desert. In the Altai mountains of Mongolia, nomads have changed their historic routes to follow the electric lines so that they can watch TV, but they must deal with the soldiers guarding against stolen power. In the Brazilian Amazon, Kaapor Indians become friendly with the sawmill workers who are decimating their forrest.

    The cinematography is wonderful--like watching National Geographic. The soccer is limited to the actual game footage as shown on 12" TV screens. This movie is streamable on netflix, amazon prime, and hulu. It is well worth watching, and you come away feeling strangely peaceful.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476240/
     
  17. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Soccer Movie: La Gran Final (The Great Match) - 2006

    oops, a typo: WC 2002 Final

    and forgot to add, this movie is in the native language of each country, with English subtitles.
     
  18. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Her Best Move - 2007

    Family friendly, "Her Best Move" rises above the other teen/kid soccer movies in the authenticity of the players and the story. The actors and extras have soccer skills that are well captured by the cinematography. The story accurately portrays the trade-offs and stresses on soccer prodigies as well as their families and coaches.

    Streamable on netflix; I read a review that said the DVD has no extras.
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469429/

    Sadly, the movie is not as entertaining as the stories behind the movie:
    - Norm Hunter, the writer-director-producer, was a dad soccer coach in CYSA-North. After making his fortune in manufacturing, at age 45, he started a film studio, and this was his first feature film (it may have gone straight to DVD).
    - Leah Pipes, who plays the 15 year old trying to make the national team, is a soccer player. She plays well, and her teammates look like club, college, or pro players.
    - There are team practices with large Cyberrays banners in the back, and one session has Brandi Chastain and Sissi on the field, even tho the team and the WUSA folded in 2003. There is also footage of the WUSA Boston Breakers and Mia Hamm.
    - If you want to see highly skilled women doing a lot of good dribbling and good moves, this is the film to see. I haven't seen action like this even in soccer drill videos; it is very well done by cinematographer Paul Ryan, as discussed here:
    http://digitalproducer.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=82277

    This is the first non-documentary that I am recommending to watch for the soccer, but not for the movie itself.
     
  19. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Kicking + Screening Film Festival

    Holy cow, I've discovered there is a 3-year-old soccer movie film festival, called the "Kicking + Screening Film Festival". Based in New York, it was co-founded by Rachel Markus and Greg Lalas in 2009. Subsequently, they have held satellite festivals throughout the world, and at the end of Sept-2011, a satellite will be held in London.

    http://www.kickingandscreening.com/

    However, this does not put an end to my Soccer Movies thread, because "K&S is dedicated to showcasing the best soccer films in the world to bring attention to this under-appreciated, emerging film genre." And I'm trying to review ALL the soccer movies I can find, not just the good ones. I refuse to discriminate...
     
  20. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Switching Goals - 1999

    A Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen made-for-TV soccer movie. You may ask, have I hit bottom?

    But no, this movie is actually pretty good. Great family fun! Directed by comedian David Steinberg, "Switching Goals" is well-paced and has many funny moments from the mom, dad, and other supporting characters. The 11-12 year old twins are their usual selves--remember, before they became drug-dealing party animals, they were the Justin Bieber of their day.

    Altho the Olsens have a soccer double, Alexi Lalas helped train them and has some screen time where two dads argue whether or not he is a greater player than Pele. ha ha. Other than Alexi, the soccer is deplorable. The game is portrayed incorrectly with baseball, basketball rules/metaphors. Michael Cera has a few seconds on screen.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0217074/
     
  21. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Home Team - 1999

    Steve Guttenberg is well known for his success with movie franchises, and maybe that's why he decided to star in a second soccer movie (made for TV). He also has done charity work for foster children, and in this family film, such kids help him find redemption. The story is pretty much "Mighty Duck" on a soccer pitch.

    It's not a bad movie--it could use tighter editing--but who was the target audience for this movie? Soccer movie nuts, canadians, and maybe a few 8-10 year old boys? Guttenberg fans would have to be disappointed, because his acting is often over the top, and he looks like he's been ridden hard and put away wet.

    The soccer is sort of silly and mostly shot from the waist down, except the actor Johnny Morina appears to have some skill. One of the refs runs around with a whistle in his mouth. I dunno, watch this movie if you're desperate. Streamable on netflix.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0225947/
    (imdb says the movie was released in 2000, but it is copyright 1999)
     
  22. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: The Game of Their Lives (The Miracle Match) - 2005

    Maybe like me, you fell asleep during “The Game of Their Lives” when it played on the big screen in a limited release in Apr-2005. Although directed and written by the same guys who did Hoosiers, the pace is very slow in this telling of the USA victory over England at WC1950. There are too many stories/themes to follow: diversity, 2nd generation Americans, religious tolerance, no-chance underdog, fear of flying, WWII veterans, soccer on a shoestring budget. There are also some minor historical inaccuracies and distractions, e.g. the St Louisan sportswriter, who follows the team and narrates the story, morphs into a very British Jean-Luc Picard.

    But like wine, the movie improves the second time around on DVD, retitled as “The Miracle Match”. Partially, the now-famous Gerard Butler’s charisma commands attention. And there is a parallel between this game and the recent US WNT vs Japan WC2011 final. Both of the favored teams were incredibly unlucky despite numerous shots on goal. Winning that day was not their destiny.

    The soccer is okay, although it consists of many split-seconds of action time-spliced together. Why would they do that, when so many of the actors were accomplished soccer players, or played on Hollywood United FC or other celebrity teams: Gerard Butler, Louis and Costas Mandylor, Zak Bryan (oldest son on “Home Improvement”), Jimmy-Jean Louis, Wes Bentley, and Richard Jenik, plus ringer John Harkes. And including Harkes and Eric Wynalda, there were 4 soccer consultants.

    There are no extras on the DVD, and it is not yet streamable on Netflix.
    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0354595/

    Additional background info:
    A depiction of the game is at
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_v_United_States_(1950)

    There are many 2005 BigSoccer threads for “The Game of Their Lives”, such as this:
    https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=170018

    Here are links to the Hollywood United FC:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_United_F.C. (for history)
    http://hollywoodutd.com/ (now an NPSL team)

    Joe Gaetjens, the only goal scorer of the game, was going to college in the US when he joined the team. He eventually returned to Haiti and was arrested and presumably killed by Papa Doc Duvalier’s forces when they took over.
     
  23. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Die Wilden Kerle 2 - 2005

    Streamable on Netflix, "The Wild Soccer Bunch 2" is the 2nd of 5 installments of a German soccer movie franchise. I assume it is very popular there, and maybe to them it is family friendly. Maybe you have to be raised in Germany and understand German fairy tales to appreciate this movie. I thought I had accidentally switched channels to a nightmare sequence in a Fellini movie. A tomboyish girl who plays on a boys team of 12 year old "wild things" is romanced away by the leader of a band of skateboarding goths. He wants to sacrifice the boys team to the witch he worships. But a wilden kerle teammate woos her back so they can beat a national team and build their own soccer stadium in a junkyard.

    I think some Americans would find this movie inappropriate and somewhat leering towards young boys (they are all incredibly handsome children). They (and the girl) start off the movie by urinating on a wall. Before the big game, the skateboarders steal their uniforms so die wilden kerle have to play in just their undershorts. Of course, the goalie is completely pantsed during a save. At the end of the credits, die wilden kerle boys all moon the movie audience. I also thought it was weird that the ending credit was grateful words of appreciation from the parents of the actors for including their children in the film.

    I realize that Germany has a more relaxed attitude towards nudity. When I was in Munich for WC2006, we saw that the natives go nude sun-bathing by the stream in the park. But I'm not going to try to watch the rest of this franchise, as it feels like exploitation. I'm not even going to include a link to this movie. I'm really posting this review to warn other soccer parents.

    In German with english subtitles
     
  24. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Shaolin Family Soccer - 2004

    "Shaolin Family Soccer" is a movie title that tries to ride on the coat tails of Steven Chow's popular "Shaolin Soccer". One of its actors, Wong Yat Fei (aka Yut Fei Wong), is in both movies as a Shaolin monk who can head the ball with such force that he can rip the ball through the goal net, bloody the goalkeeper's hands, etc. Hence he is named Iron Head in the first movie.

    That soccer part is about 5 minutes of the movie. The rest of the movie is a play on Mrs. Doubtfire, where Wong's character is a grandfather trying to reunite with his son by pretending to be a nanny to his grandson. Then nanny and grandson try to reunite the estranged parents. In fact, the movie says its title is "Silly Kung Fu Family", which more accurately describes the plot.

    Better to just watch Shaolin Soccer.

    But if you insist on self-torture, this movie is streamable on netflix and amazon prime. In Mandarin with english sub-titles
     
    digiosmosis repped this.
  25. mjlee22

    mjlee22 Quake & Landon fan

    Nov 24, 2003
    near Palo Alto, CA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Soccer Movie: Shaolin Soccer - 2001

    The last movie left such a bad taste, it was time to open my "Shaolin Soccer" dvd. I liked it 10 years ago, but now I recognize how inventive "Shaolin Soccer" is. A group of penniless former Shaolin monks, who don't enjoy their poverty, rekindle their love of kung fu by applying it to soccer. Written and directed by Stephen Chow, the film pokes fun at soccer and kung fu while at the same time merging them into a sports fantasy that--through CGI--is graceful, mystical, and omnipotent. Chow's character learns accuracy, control and power by aiming his kung fu soccer kicks at a long-distance target. The Evil Team kicks balls hard enough to burn the clothes and arms of a goalie. But a female steps in to use her yin-and-yang technique to dissipate Evil's powerful shots and help win the tournament. It's a lot of fun to watch and really should be towards the top of a soccer movie list, for its creativity and humor.

    But caveat, I used to be a big kung fu fan, so I'm probably immune to the over-the-top violence in this movie. Another treat for me is to watch the actor Kwok-Kwan Chan, who has the strongest resemblance to Bruce Lee of any other actor I've seen.

    The DVD comes with Chinese (Cantonese) and English theatrical versions with sub-titles. The Chinese version has two extra scenes where characters are humiliated by bullies. It also has non-subtitled outtakes before the credits.

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286112/
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siu_lam_juk_kau (for background on the movie & story)
     

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