Un sueño

This is a strange movie.

The premise of a professional player helping a homeless-team in their upcoming Soccer World Cup could be an interesting one. Simple and grounded enough where character interactions and developments could make for a memorable story.. this isn't the case here. It all feels like excerpts of a "TV drama" instead, with scenes that come out of nowhere, are rushed, or undercooked. Everything with the lead's mother just goes too fast and I didn't care for! Then the cast of characters is presented and barely explored, which is fine.. but for their interactions to not develop into anything memorable or worth caring for either is a problem. The lessons learned, the arcs and emotional weight are just there to tick boxes. It all reminded me of the much better "Shaolin Soccer" film, with a similar team and problems. But that one feels better paced and is capable of cramming more story in its length to make it juicy.

Anyway, I quite liked the locations and most camerawork! But the small parts feel really small, even more so when compared to the "bigger" ones.

I can't really recommend this, as it is a product that feels like a lot of parts that don't add to something greater.

Personally, came to my attention because my country was shown (in trailers) to take part in the tournament (which is unusual to see), and was curious as to its inclusion. I'm also familiar with Park Seo-joon.. not because anything I saw in the trailers was enticing.

... it is certainly lacking something.

Perhaps I was hoping for something along the lines of The Blind Side or Friday Night Lights. But then obviously more lighthearted, but this was nothing like that. It was like the makers were fans of such movies and sort of pulled an entirely invented story out of a hat. There were no real inspirational events or teams to follow perhaps? Nothing real they could mold into a movie about people their plights and situations and such... maybe even with some deeper message?

I learned they let homeless people play soccer for some reason, that was about it.

So yeah, its entertaining, but also an incredibly empty story sadly.

I probably gave an extra point as I adore iu (Lee Ji Eun) and admire Park Seo-joon and I think the best part of the movie is their interactions. The movie looks at a group of down on their luck men who enter the homeless World Cup representing Korea, and their manager who initially is not interested and a young documentary maker. The movie aims to be a feel good motivational film about succeeding against adversity but I found it lacked any depth and the storyline was easily predictable. The advantage with the simplicity is that it is a movie which can be enjoyed as a family, where the underdogs win the hearts of the onlookers.

It's excalty and more than you expected.

It's sweet cheesy and heart felt film . Every character has their time to shine .

Don't look deep into the silly plot points such as having a homeless world cup for soccer exclusively to homeless people obviously.

Some might find somethings not progressive enough such as one if the members of the team in love with a woman who has a disability of speech and they say mentally ill.

The dream real for this movie and is shows how creativity is dying in the west when something so simple as this film is much more creative and what they did with a small budget .

So maybe we're unfair with the low reviews, maybe we'd love it if we were 8? I had no idea what to expect but I couldn't wait to watch anything with PSJ and IU. Unfortunately I was let down but I still love these actors and I guess it's ok if they decide to do movies like that. The premise was cute and somehow interesting so no hard feelings. But yeah, watch it with your kids and write a review based on their opinion so we can have a more objective view.

If you like the actors and you're an adult, you should definitely watch Hwarang, Itaewon Class, Midnight Runners, She Was Pretty, and my all time favorite Fight For My Way with Park Seo Joon. And My Mister with IU. To see what they're normally capable of and suitable for.