Boleiros: Era Uma Vez o Futebol...

This movie shows the life of those who work with soccer. This movie shows the soccer of São Paulo, and the jokes are for brazilian audience only. If you are not brazilian, you should not see this movie (unless you are a big soccer fan). I think this is the best brazilian movie ever made.

Several Brazilian persons relate with nostalgia and fantasy their memories of football, also known as soccer. Since football is all very import to the Brazilian male society, the film is a faithful portrait of Brazil and its recent changes. The commercialism of football is there: previously football was mostly a passion, a religion, but now it is mostly a way to generate lots of money. Some go to the most talented (and lucky) players, but many are left only with the dreams, and an empty bank account. There is also the limits of the players -- even with very little education, they're invited by the media to talk about lots of subjects, while all they can do is play. There is also the new relations with women that their new found money can provide -- for the good and for the bad. There is also a sensitive and sincere portrait of the football supporters, with their strange emotional link to the sport.

"Soccer is not a matter of life or death is even more than that" (Nelson Rodrigues)

This movie is a collection of short stories about soccer, passion and the link between them. Some of the tales are based on real events happened with retired soccer players here in Brazil.

If you like soccer, or even understand it, I advise you to spend some nice time watching this incredible movie.

Several short stories go beyond the usual clichés. Nothing about memorable matches or players, unforgettable victories or miserable defeats in postcard tropical scenery - that would be easy and boring. This movie choose a different path, it is focused on secondary characters that you hardly think of but are part of the game we love, such as the referee that must assure a result, a young journalist trying to set a interview with his aged idol, a manager trying to negotiate his promising striker with a foreign team, etc. All these little stories carefully crafted, sometimes funny sometimes sad (both, most of time) in a low key approach that capture how football is deeply rooted in our lives.

For foreign viewers: probably you won't be able to grasp the subtleties of this loving display of football in Sao Paulo during the 70's and 80's. But even though this movie is way better than 99% of all sport movies you'll ever see. And watching it can magically make you feel a little more Brazilian.

PS: sorry US readers, I use "football", not "soccer"

Perhaps it will be impossible for a US citizen to watch "Boleiros" and like it - not only because the action happens all the time in São Paulo, that isn't known as Rio de Janeiro outside Brazil, or because the movie focus on some costumes that are typically brazilian on sport coverage - but also because the film deals with stories and emotions that are typical of a people that loves soccer.

I normally watch soccer at World Cup and Olympics time only, and even for me "Boleiros" has been a funny - sometimes, REALLY funny - and emotive movie, because the director has known to capture the emotions of those that follow their teams, wherever they go, whether they play well or not.

Perhaps the europeans could watch the movie and understand - not only with their brains, but also with their heart - what is portrayed on screen...