Does God Play Football

I saw this short when I attended the Berlin International Film Festival, (incidentally it came runner up best short in it's section). I've seen tons of shorts and so often they are inaccessible and uninteresting to their audience, This in contrast did exactly the opposite, set in the 60's this is a lovely tale about a young boy who misinterprets what his mum has told him about God to believe that he must be like Jesus. The story is engaging from the beginning, and the performance from it's young star Michael DeBurca is just heart rendering. It was more like watching a short feature instead of a short. This is an Intelligent, funny and beautifully shot film and one to look out for.

I loved this film. It's a beautiful film about a young boy trying to come to terms with the fact that he has no father and turning to God in a most unusual way. When his mother tries to explain that God is the father of us all, young Tommy takes it quite literally and compares himself to Jesus Christ. His prayers are addressed to "Dad" and all he longs for is a father of his own to play football with. I won't say any more as I don't want to spoil it for anyone else, but I heartily recommend this film. It will leave you with a warm glow, without descending into clichés or overly-saccharine sentiment. Kevin McKidd and Helen McCrory are great but it was the young actor playing Tommy that made the film for me. I noticed that this film was directed by Mike Walker, who also directed On A Life's Edge - another great short that I saw a couple of years back at the Soho shorts festival.

Thanks to the British Council and Meanpeach, I received an email invitation to view this film online during its brief engagement as the Featured Short Film at the British Council's site (www.britfilms.com). I am very glad to have accepted the invitation and view this film. It is very entertaining, engaging and thought-provoking. A great way to spend 10-11 minutes, and I would have watched longer if it were a longer film. I already consider Helen McCrory a true treasure among today's acting community, and she shines in this performance. Kevin McKidd is equally solid, and the young newcomer Michael DeBurca is a delight. I'll be spreading the word to friends about this film and hope they will go online to view it as I did. Bravo and thumbs up!