Seve: The Movie

This is a lovely film that is both educational and moving.

'Seve The Movie' offers up a cinematic story telling of the real life Seve Ballesteros, focussing in the main on his childhood interest in golf (broadly speaking from the age of 10 to 16). It reveals enough of his upbringing, family and environment - and above all his single-minded drive to become a great golfer - to give us a good picture of Seve as a boy.

Mixed in with this story telling (a little intrusively at times) is real archive footage of the adult Seve's major golfing adventures. The irregular time jumps might not be to everyone's taste, and I found it uncomfortable at the start. However on occasion it added to the story (for example, cutting back between an important chip shot at The Open to a similar shot played when he was a young boy worked quite well). Could the story have been told better in a linear manner? Maybe.

The film is a little light in places; some of the childhood events are rather patchy in their dramatisation, and the movie is incomplete too - the period between the 16 year old Seve getting a chance to turn professional and his first Major win is almost entirely overlooked. However, there's enough on offer to compensate for this, and the impact of his father, mother and brothers on his path is particularly interesting.

Where the film really shines is in its conclusion, moving as it does toward more real life archive footage and becoming deeply moving. The love between Seve and his younger countryman Jose Maria Olazabal is as beautifully portrayed as it is painfully intense, with one very brief, intimate and powerful moment between them - a candid shot filmed by the BBC - needing no embellishment.

The concluding 20 minutes or so, in which we see the eventual fate of the young boy portrayed earlier in the film, more than makes amends for any gaps in the story. So although I would have liked a little more from the film, I certainly had enough to understand and to care.

Very much recommended viewing, especially for sport fans or anyone lucky enough to have seen Seve play.

I don't know the history of golf because I'm not a regular follower of the game other than knowing a few names from this generation. So Severiano Ballesteros is an unheard name to me until I saw this beautiful film. I'm glad I saw it for the many reasons like that.

All the films are not for just entertainment, some are the great historical account that makes it reach in a wider distance like this one. Every sports produced its own legends, and so this film is focused on golf. One of the best sport-drama I have ever seen and an important film based on the golf, specially dedicated to Seve fans.

An English-Spanish language film produced with the collaboration of Britain-Spain. It sets in a small coastal town of the northern Spain in the year 1967 where the 10 year old Seve introduced to us. Being born in a hardworking farmer family and after losing interest in the studies, how he develops a passion towards the golf is what the film portraits. At the young age he begins to think of the game of all the time and it becomes his life. With the support from his family and trained himself in the harsh conditions make him turn into one of the gifted golfer in the history.

This is one of the strangest screen presentations I have seen. It is nothing visual spectacular, or if you expect it to be a film that recreates his whole life, then you might end in a disappointment. Because it was a mix of the feature film as well as the documentary. His childhood days before he becomes a pro was awesomely cinematised and the rest was the archive footages from all the tournament he had competed.

"The one with biggest heart will win."

That's the part anybody must not miss it because some of the greatest shots he ever played and when he teed off a bad shot, how he came back to the game was so inspiring. His spellbinding techniques and as a humble human being, anyone who does not know would to begin to like him like I did. The blend in narration between the real videos and actors performed were amazing. A perfect screen exhibition for a great sporting personality.

Coming from an economically poor family did not stop him to pursue his dream. Everyone goes through a struggle while chasing such dream, and so Seve did despite very talented. It was a long journey that covered most of his life. With the interview clippings attached to it, lets us know his many unknown qualities of his family, friends, former teammates and opponents recalling their memories. Including some of his old interviews where he reveals how much he loved the game.

It was not your usual biographical-sport film, but surely a must see. Very cleverly written screenplay and obviously wonderful editing. Especially if you're a Severiano Ballesteros' fan, you'll definitely love to see him in the film. This is how you showcase a legend on the screen if making money from the product is not an agenda, but letting the world who is Severiano Ballesteros.

Actually, it was directed by a documentary filmmaker, so he excelled it. But the sad part is the film did not reach a wider audience or even the golf fans as it should have been. Mainly because the film did not see the worldwide release, but it is available in the digital format. So I hope my review made you a curious about it and I once gain hope you would recommend it to your friends.

9/10

I hardly ever give things 10 out of 10, bar Casablanca and Seven, but this film certainly achieves what it sets out to: an enthusiastically-told tribute to what must've been an amazing man. Slightly saccharine flashbacks to his childhood are offset by jaw-dropping footage, interesting interviews and an ending which keeps picking up in emotive punch.

Self-indulgence, however, is never a problem (despite a near two-hour running time) as the flashbacks actually end up serving the documentary footage well (the young Seve is a revelation, albeit in a highly specialised role) while the real Seve and his contemporaries add more gravitas, relevance, humour and pathos to the making of this great sportsman.

Rounded of with a thumping if samey score, this gets top marks for innovation. One or two less for overall enjoyment perhaps, but that's merely the limit of the story's limited confines. Different, dazzling in places, but they make the best of what's available. And no-one should be penalised for that.

The love of the golf fell upon the young, optimistic heart of Seve Ballesteros of Pedrena, Spain, signaling the start of a long affair of greatness. As a child prodigy, knowing with full confidence that he was going to be a champion someday, Ballesteros grew into one of the most beloved and inspirational European professional golfers of all time. Seve the Movie beautifully follows Ballesteros' path from skipping school to hit golf balls on the beach near his home, to traveling across the world for golf tournaments, winning trophies. Director John-Paul Davidson's creative direction is a driving force behind the tribute to the legend, as well as the ability to capture the real personality of Ballesteros through the young actor, Jose Luis Gutierrez, who portrays young Ballesteros in the film. Seve the Movie explores the challenges that Ballesteros was faced with in pursuit of his dream, as well as allowing the viewer to peek inside his genius mind behind golf technique. When talking about Ballesteros, a speaker in the film simply says, "He strode like a champion." After seeing Ballesteros' charisma and charm played out in the biopic, I know that statement is spot-on. In all, Seve the Movie informs, motivates, and most importantly, reminds the audience of this man's dedication to the sport he loved.

Seve: The Movie succeeds in creating a tribute to the great Spanish golfer Seve Ballesteros which both acts as documentary and a universal, engaging story of passion and perseverance. A mixture of conventional, archive-based documentary and dramatized biopic – Director John-Paul Davidson does a masterful job of fleshing out the past of young Ballesteros. Child actor Jose Luis Gutierrez convincingly takes on this role. While lesser films would have delved into melodrama, Seve: The Movie shows the failures as well as the triumphs to give a sense of realism to the making of one of golf's legends. Flitting between footage of its subject's triumphs at the British Open and US Masters, and a reenactment of his impoverished childhood as a farmer's son in Spain, the charismatic figure of Ballesteros shines through. Filled with passion, charm, and occasional humor, the film will have you cheering on this golfing pro whether you are familiar with him at the onset of the movie or not.