Pele: Birth of a Legend

Greetings again from the darkness. From rags to riches … a common expression that often leads to a paint-by-numbers movie. Co-directors Jeff Zimbalist and Michael Zimbalist are fortunate in that their "coming of age" subject is the globally famous Pele' – often considered the greatest soccer/futbol player of all-time.

Rather than revisit the career of the transcendent player who later dedicated his life to humanitarian causes, the film kicks off with a 17 year old Pele trotting out onto the pitch at the 1958 World Cup. It then flashes back 8 years to when 9 year old "Dico" was growing up in the slums of Sao Paulo. We get to see his relationship with his family … his dad taught him to play, and his friends were loyal to him and encouraged him to pursue his dream.

There are some similarities to "The Sandlot" as we watch the joy these boys have in playing the sport whenever and wherever they can … plus the origin of the somewhat derogatory and now immortal nickname. It seemed that Pele' was able to carry this love of the game throughout his career. We see boys huddled around a radio listening to the 1950 World Cup as Brazil's team was humiliated … an event that played a role in Pele' returning pride to a bruised country.

Kevin de Paula plays Pele' as he works his way up through the age groups and national teams. Often the youngest and shortest player, the film depicts him as a shy kid often out of his element … the polar opposite to the beaming superstar we so often saw later in his career. There is an explanation of the roots of the "Ginga" style and its ties to the Brazilian culture and martial arts.

For some reason, Vincent D'Onofrio is cast as Brazil's Coach Feola and we are forced to endure a tortuous accent that is basically inexcusable these days. There are also some exaggerations in the crowd scenes and shots of the press, though young de Paula underplays the lead. Colm Meaney plays George Raynor, the coach of Sweden in that infamous 1958 World Cup, and we do get a cute little cameo from Pele' himself.

The film does a nice job with the young man's childhood and progression towards superstar (the IOC named him the athlete of the century). He is presented as close to his family, and inherently quiet and calm. The match clips of Pele' that play over the closing credits are proof that a movie just can't capture the transcendence of his talent. Pele' is truly the reason it's "the beautiful game".

Like the excellent Kevin Costner film: "McFarland USA" this movie sensitively shows how sport can significantly alter a people's identity (in this case the entire nation of Brazil was uplifted from a sense of inferiority within the world community, to a pride in their own uniqueness). The acting is good. The sports action scenes are remarkable (how did they get an actor with such great soccer skills?) and the music is by the great A.R. Raman. A lot of care was put into the making of this film, but a lot was lost, I feel, by having the actors speak mostly in English. And it wasn't dubbed English, it was the Brazilian actors trotting out their heavily accented English. That had the effect of taking away much of the authenticity the film had worked so hard to achieve. (That the real-life Pelé has a cameo appearance - and thus takes the viewer out of the scene's intended verisimilitude - is, perhaps, excusable - I can cut it that slack). One more grumble: the movie trailers announced: "With Rodrigo Santoro". I will see anything with him in it - he is a terrific actor. But he appears for LITERALLY FIVE SECONDS! Really! That is unacceptable marketing...'bait and switch', actually. But see the movie anyway. (BTW, I met Pelé in 1984. We talked for about ten minutes, and at one point, after we had been briefly interrupted, he put his arm around me and said: "So, my Brazilian-American friend, where were we?" He had a golden air about him, and yet was completely down-to-earth even though we talked about cosmic reality. To listen to my five minute audio recording about meeting Pelé, search for "Pelé And His Brazilian- American Friend".

PELE is probably the biggest name in the soccer history that has shaped & shifted the current playing style of modern day game. The extravagant career speaks for itself. The movie shows us the making & coming to be of PELE.

I see a lot pf people saying this movie is predictable, not so good & what not. to all of them & most importantly to all of u i say, this movie is more than just a football movie. Not every movie is supposed to be a thriller or an Avenger movie. simple things in life have a way of getting to us.

This movie is about small & humble beginnings, its about friendship , its about believing in one self, taking the risk. Movie shows us that is does not matter if u have all the resources or opportunities in the world. if u keep at it, if u find something that you are passionate about & stick to it, day by day, night after night, the results speak for itself.

Movie has amazing moments, really great camera work. one of the best for all the soccer movies out there. Even if one know nothing about the legend that PELE is, once you are into the movie, you cant resist to feel the journey he is going to make in life. I was finding myself constantly tears of joy rolling down my cheek coz i was hooked into the movie. had soo many of those watering your eyes moments that once the movie was over, i was filled with joy and happiness to have witness such a good work of art.

Acting & direction is simple & stunning. camera-work is amazing , specially in those moments you want to fell the greatness of the legend, the movie gives you that.

I'll keep going back to watching this movie , just to feel that joy of watching something beautiful in the making again & again.

The best movie ever, because I feel very inspired by this amazing and one of a kind movie.

Pelé: Birth of a Legend is an extraordinary movie, the tale of how Pelé became famous and won with Brazil their first world cup in the 1958 world cup in Sweden. This is probably the most successful movie that focuses on soccer. A true story of a boy with nothing who became the world's greatest soccer player. No famous actors in this film except for Vincent D'Onofrio. But the movie doesn't need famous actors to attract the attention of the viewers, it's beautiful story is what attracted me in the first place. Along with the music composed by A. R. Rahman That follows the emotion and scenes throughout the film. Pelé's legend is worth to be told and has a deep meaning to Brazil's history of soccer and hope of becoming the best. The movie is also a story of restoring honor and hope to a full nation. Only it is sad that today Brazil's soccer team can't be as great as it was back then. So this film brings a lot of nostalgia towards the past and a better hope for the future. I am hoping to see other movies about soccer like this one in the future, maybe a movie about Neymar or Messi.