Pelé

This is a thorough and straightforward documentary about the most famous futball player of his time; Pelé. It started at highlighting his talent before he ever played professionally through how he became a national hero. It showed key games and plays as well as the three World Cups he helped his Brazilian team to win. It touched on him being used politically and how he was not outspoken about Brazil's time under dictatorship as he too had fears about speaking against the forceful governmental rule. But it did highlight how a winning futball team can unite a country better than any politician. This is competently done and you even get to hear from Pelé himself who now walks with a walker.

A documentary that features a well-crafted narration, providing solid arguments, attractive images, key events in Brazil, and the importance of a player who became the king of football.

"Pelé" is an entertaining proposal that meets expectations, it's not excellent, but it does have great merit due to its execution. A documentary about one of the best football players who had a remarkable story at different stages of his life. However, directors Ben Nicholas and David Tryhorn did a formidable job, providing a unique experience for football fans in general. The way they approached many of the interviews I liked, as they sometimes played with the contrast of light and shadow.

This documentary film has a good pace, providing essential information from Pelé's beginnings and how he evolved over the years. Additionally, it emphasizes many important reflective messages that can easily be highlighted, such as: respect, talent, sacrifices, humility, the limits of the human body, hope in the midst of circumstances, the social impact that football promotes, the rise of fame, and the consequences of politics.

The Brazilian's personality is spot on at many moments, the approach of how to remain in a neutral state with the environment, politics, governments, society, feelings, friendships, and family is brilliant. The video archives are incredible.

How Pelé played back in those days. The only player to win three World Cups despite both physical and mental adversities. An example of a person who seeks to do good with their talent and bring joy to an entire nation.

Pelé played a beautiful game of soccer and this documentary captured it well. I enjoy watching soccer so I appreciated the footage from previous world cups. The documentary was heavy on that though, and for that reason, did not portray Pelé's story with the richness and complexity it deserved.

This documentary also covers the historical and political context of Pelé's career. As a non-Brazilian, I appreciated getting to learn about this. I didn't not think that the coverage was biased or that this documentary was a left wing propaganda film.

I would have appreciated more discussion of the significance of Pelé being one of the first Black world sports stars. His first world cup appearance came only 11 years after Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in the US. I realize this is about Brazil but I know that county has it's own issues with anti-Blackness and racial inequality.

All in all, a film worth watching, but one that does not match the greatness of its subject.

Any movie about Pele is good, however this one takes a very political stand from the insistence on talk about the military regime in Brasil to have basically only journalist who wanted to focus on this. Anyhow, it worth to watch because it is about the greatest player of all times.

Pelé is the title of this documentary. Going into it I expected vintage footage of the football player in his greatest moments, the story of his footballing career, and an in-depth look at his personal life which would presumably give us insights into his mind and actions. What we get is some of that, and a strong dose of heavy-handed political rhetoric. It's curious, but pretty revealing as to the filmmaker's bias and political leanings. Honestly, if they'd stuck to the task at hand, we'd be presented with a more focused film. "Pelé - the footballer, his life, and the Brazilian dictatorship" would have been a more accurate title.