Pelé

Pelé played a beautiful game of soccer and this documentary captured it well. I enjoy watching soccer so I appreciated the footage from previous world cups. The documentary was heavy on that though, and for that reason, did not portray Pelé's story with the richness and complexity it deserved.

This documentary also covers the historical and political context of Pelé's career. As a non-Brazilian, I appreciated getting to learn about this. I didn't not think that the coverage was biased or that this documentary was a left wing propaganda film.

I would have appreciated more discussion of the significance of Pelé being one of the first Black world sports stars. His first world cup appearance came only 11 years after Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in the US. I realize this is about Brazil but I know that county has it's own issues with anti-Blackness and racial inequality.

All in all, a film worth watching, but one that does not match the greatness of its subject.