Goal! - Naissance d'un prodige

In the mix of all sports movies, when a movie is made for soccer, the expectations of the audience, is a thousand fold. This is because most of the Soccer Movie goers are soccer (football) fans. Football fans are not so forgiving when it comes to the football scenes. This movie captures the scenes fantastically. It shows real football. The filmmaker knows football. The stars know football. The cameramen know football.

This is independent film-making at its best. It has the main plot which is the struggle of an athlete to achieve his dream. It has side plots which involve his relationships with his father, his new found girlfriend and his grandmother. His interactions with his brother and his teammates are great. But probably the most important event of his life has to do with the lucky break he gets when a former player turned scout sees him play. From there, the dream begins for the star of the movie and the audience as well.

This movie is highly recommended.

This film is basically Rocky but with a football. It's a rags-to-riches tale of a promising Mexican youngster with nothing in life, apart from incredible footballing skills.

Some of the CGI football shots are poor, but the budget for this film was not massive, and they did what they could. The use of cameos from the likes of Shearer, Zidane, Beckham and Raul added to both the credibility and believability of the overall piece.

The film is sad and at times funny, and can be enjoyed by the whole family, including people with no interest in football. It's a story of triumph over adversity, and of people pulling together to help someone get ahead in life, by doing what they do best.

Overall, this is the best football film ever made, in my opinion. You can tell that the people who made it knew their subject matter - something that simply cannot be said for Green Street (Hooligans) which concentrated on fan violence, rather than the beautiful game.

Straight away the movie started well. It was well directed and all the camera work and cinematography was good.

The story was predictable but I wasn't expecting anything else. That said, they didn't go too overboard with how the film was going to end.

There were a few carefully placed lectures for the real footballers in the film, lets hope they understand the warnings.

I went with the missus and she loved the film. And she hates footie!!! The only bit I didn't quite get was the timeline. NUFC only had a few games left in the season but so much time seemed to pass by. I wasn't convinced.

But if you want a good film to watch then you wouldn't go too far wrong by having a look at this. It is far better than some of the rubbish this year.

recommended.

Overwhelming under-dog story that has been done a hundred times and is definitely cliché-riddled, but I loved it nevertheless. "Goal!: The Journey Begins" is the first of a trilogy as a young Mexican illegal immigrant (Kuno Becker) in Los Angeles has a chance at the brass ring in England of all places playing soccer for one of their professional teams after being discovered by scout/former player Stephen Dillane. Tony Plana (always under-rated and excellent) is outstanding as Becker's cold father and Marcel Iures gives an incredible performance as the British team's head coach. Becker also unwittingly teaches a brash superstar (Alessandro Nivola) who has forgotten the real reasons why he plays soccer why the game is so important and also finds companionship in a strange land with beautiful nurse Anna Friel. Great cinematography and a wonderful score make for a very moving and entertaining experience as the film touches strong emotions of love, friendship, sacrifice and ultimate success against all odds. A bit long and not totally original, but still done well enough to be a winner that does accomplish its goal in the end. 4 stars out of 5.

In 'Goal' Kuno Becker plays Santiago Munez, an illegal alien living in Los Angels. Despite his hardships, Santiago loves to play soccer. So much so, that he is really quite good. Good enough to get the notice of a former scout of Newcastle United. Santiago gets the opportunity to go to England and try out for this premier football team. But if he does not make it, he will not be able to return to Los Angels.

This is a heartwarming tale of one man's struggle to become something more. Despite the obstacles and the disapproval of his father (Tony Plana), he goes for the goal. Only to find that it is not going to be that easy after all.

I would say this film is 'Bend it Like Beckham' meets 'Gattaca'. Not that Santiago needs to meet any DNA tests, but he is in a world that is virtually unknown to him. He has to keep secrets about himself in order to fit in because most expect him to fail. Some will even try to make him fail.