El juego bonito

This movie makes you think of so many things all at once. With great acting, a story based on real events and a powerful message, this movie is something for all ages to watch. It's a movie about serious topics such as homelessness, addiction, teamwork, finding yourself and taking pride from what you achieve in stead of what you might have failed at in life. But most of all it's a message about how connecting with people makes you stronger, and how being alone isn't really being strong. It's also about looking beyond social status and seeing people for who they are, the ability to come together despite background if there's kindness and being able to recognize yourself in people you might not know could be someone you really needed. I highly recommend this movie, and as I said, it's for all ages!

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 👍

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.

An uplifting sporting film showing how the game of football can change lives, even for the homeless, and in this case, for those who have lost their way. What makes it even more engaging is that the Homeless World Cup is an actual event, with stories taken from this international gathering and amalgamated to create this heartfelt journey set in the heavenly city of Rome.

The center of attention is a former semi-professional football player, Vinny Walker (convincing performance by Micheal Ward), who is released by the club even before his career took off. He joins a group of mismatched homeless men with assorted problems of their own, and writer, Frank Cottrell Boyce, does a stellar job in bringing their stories together, creating a magic bond, with the help of director, Thea Sharrock. The living legend, Bill Nighy, gives it an extra boost, even when the story sometimes gets a little schmaltzy, this little gem still shows the passion and rewards of humility within the most beautiful game.

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.