[ Trailer ]
Goal! The Dream Begins is the first movie I’ve seen which is based on football. It follows Santiago Muñez, a Mexican immigrant in the US, whose talent with the ball is discovered and leads him on a journey to join the Newcastle United team. The story is very clichéd. Santiago comes from a poor hard-working family. His father doesn’t support his passion. His talent is discovered by an Englishman who inspires him to travel across to UK to try out for the Newcastle team. At first he loses and is almost driven to go back. Enter a girlfriend and some inspiration and Santiago ends up as a young football star. This is a pukka Bollywood drama! The story is the worst part of this movie, cause it’s so damn predictable.
The good thing about the movie is but of course, football. I don’t watch much football and yet I easily liked this movie. Kuno Becker plays his football part earnestly. Also, there’s zestful acting by the Newcastle United manager and the coach. The best is the photography. Can anything look more sexy than football in the rain? England looks splendid with its fog soaked climate, beaches, towns, historic football clubs, stadiums, teams, fans and best of all, their accent, mate! The movie is supported by FIFA. So, all the teams, players, stadiums and even the team shirts are all real. This movie is supposedly the first in a trilogy. I hope to see the rest when they’re released. If a stupid collision sport like American football can be glamorized in innumerable movies, this one is just a start for football. Yay, for more football movies!
This is a scene from the movie which I found to be particularly memorable. Here Muñez is on his first morning in England and goes out for a run beside the town beach. The visuals are stunning. The song in the background is a version of Oasis’s Cast No Shadow. The lyrics are relevant to Muñez’s situation at that point in the movie.
Here’s a thought for every man who tries to understand what is in his hands He walks along the open road of love and life surviving if he can
Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say Chained to all the places that he never wished to stay Bound with all the weight of all the words he tried to say As he faced the sun he cast no shadow