Le Beau Jeu

Going in this movie I did not know about the Homeless World Cup at all. Never heard from it so I was surprised when I Googled it and found out it was a real thing. It was on my watchlist because I'm a huge fan of Bill Nighy to be honest.

The chemistry of that man holds the film together with Michael Ward. Loved every minute of it. Refreshing story, a feel good story that must be inspiring many soccer players out there. Reminded me a bit of Ted Lasso. And left me teary and I'm not even a soccer fan.

Great story, touching and emotional, I laughed and cried and was on the tip of my seat during the games. Very wholesome perfectly decent film.

Never knew until this movie that there is actually a world class soccer completion for Homeless Guys.

In this inspirational drama, Bill Nighy portrays a manager who is desperate to win the official Football WC for Homeless people after never ever winning a medal in his previous eleven attempts. So he assembles a group of guys who are sidelined by the society due to some or the other reason. Vinny is the main character of this bunch who seems like a professional footballer though you won't know his actual story till the end.

So can Mal (Bill Nighy) lead his bunch of outcasts representing England against the likes of South Africa, U. S. A., Italy and others? Can his group play like a team keeping aside their differences and personal ego's? You'll know the answers after watching this rare sports drama.

I watched this with my parents who have limited enjoyment of the sport, however the emotion and character storyline transcend the sport. It was compelling viewing and had my parents cheering, up on their feet and crying at times.

As a football fan, I found Vinnys character arch very believable, knowing the amount of players and people professional sports churns out, seeing Vinny get closure from Bill Nye brought a tear to my eye.

This film has given me some faith in the recent slew of netflix movies and given me reason to continue my subscription.

I have since watching read that this is somewhat rooted in the real homeless world Cup, with several ex players and coaches being involved. Personally this film has drawn much needed attention to a well worth social topic hence my review.

No pun intended - some call it soccer (actually mostly Americans do that. But the rest of the world calls it football - and if you consider how it is played, you have to admit it makes sense calling it that - more so than the other one (American Football that is).

But this is not about the differences - this is about the game itself. And while it is constrained and really plays in a ... well box, it is mostly about the characters, about the people involved. So while the title is talking about the game itself, the movie dives into the people playing it (no pun intended when I say diving - if you know football, you know what I mean).

This is a feelgood movie and I don't think it has many surprises for most who watch this. Just enjoy the ride and the pitch is ... yours.

I love Bill. A great actor. A legend. I love football. I admire the cause. Most of us are one cheque away from being in this tournament. So I was desperate to like this.

But the story was a little rushed and a little shallow. It knew the story it wanted to tell and just spewed it out. Very dumb and simplistic. Yes, it ticks the good feeling box. But it could have done so much more.

The herioin addict made a great first impression. Good acting. Believable character.

The cause that I have NEVER heard of. Why? My ignorance or a system failure. Why is FIFA not shoving this down my neck every Saturday!? But this film got the message to me. So I am wiser. And I get to thank this film for that.

So the film was a success. And I am grateful. Thank you 👍