Deurim

... it is certainly lacking something.

Perhaps I was hoping for something along the lines of The Blind Side or Friday Night Lights. But then obviously more lighthearted, but this was nothing like that. It was like the makers were fans of such movies and sort of pulled an entirely invented story out of a hat. There were no real inspirational events or teams to follow perhaps? Nothing real they could mold into a movie about people their plights and situations and such... maybe even with some deeper message?

I learned they let homeless people play soccer for some reason, that was about it.

So yeah, its entertaining, but also an incredibly empty story sadly.

"It's not about winning. It's about showing up and never giving up."

I love sports movies that just hit different, you know? It's not even about the game half the time, it's about people fighting their own battles, feeling lost, broken, but still choosing to keep going. Funny, real, and somehow way more emotional than i thought it'd be. Park Seo-Joon and IU brought so much life to their roles, and the story wasn't just about soccer, it was about finding family and purpose.

Sports movies are honestly my favorite hopecore; messy, imperfect, but full of heart. They remind me that even when life feels impossible, there's always a chance to rise and heal.

Such a strange concept for a soccer movie - I can see putting together a rag-tag homeless team together but to recruit the bad-boy pro and talk him into a scripted team so a drama can be made out of it? What caught my attention in the first place to watch this movie was Park Seo-joon and would have loved to see him in a more active role on the field (no fault of his own - it is the scripting or writer) instead of taking a sideline tole the whole time as a coach of the drama team. Maybe he could have jumped in instead of the Brazilians to save the day since alot of rules were being broken anyway. Park See-joon did a great job with the role he was given and as always, a favorite in this movie too.

I probably gave an extra point as I adore iu (Lee Ji Eun) and admire Park Seo-joon and I think the best part of the movie is their interactions. The movie looks at a group of down on their luck men who enter the homeless World Cup representing Korea, and their manager who initially is not interested and a young documentary maker. The movie aims to be a feel good motivational film about succeeding against adversity but I found it lacked any depth and the storyline was easily predictable. The advantage with the simplicity is that it is a movie which can be enjoyed as a family, where the underdogs win the hearts of the onlookers.

This is a strange movie.

The premise of a professional player helping a homeless-team in their upcoming Soccer World Cup could be an interesting one. Simple and grounded enough where character interactions and developments could make for a memorable story.. this isn't the case here. It all feels like excerpts of a "TV drama" instead, with scenes that come out of nowhere, are rushed, or undercooked. Everything with the lead's mother just goes too fast and I didn't care for! Then the cast of characters is presented and barely explored, which is fine.. but for their interactions to not develop into anything memorable or worth caring for either is a problem. The lessons learned, the arcs and emotional weight are just there to tick boxes. It all reminded me of the much better "Shaolin Soccer" film, with a similar team and problems. But that one feels better paced and is capable of cramming more story in its length to make it juicy.

Anyway, I quite liked the locations and most camerawork! But the small parts feel really small, even more so when compared to the "bigger" ones.

I can't really recommend this, as it is a product that feels like a lot of parts that don't add to something greater.

Personally, came to my attention because my country was shown (in trailers) to take part in the tournament (which is unusual to see), and was curious as to its inclusion. I'm also familiar with Park Seo-joon.. not because anything I saw in the trailers was enticing.