"GOAL!: THE DREAM BEGINS"
DVD Review
by Rachel Buccicone
| MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: **** (out of 5 stars) STARRING Kuna Becker as SANTIAGO MUNEZ Stephen Dillane as GLEN FOY Tony Plana as HERNAN MUNEZ Anna Friel as ROZ HARMISON Miriam Colon as MERCEDES Rated PG-13 Studio: Touchstone Directed by: Danny Cannon Back to DVD Review Home |  |
The story follows the dream of Santiago. As a Mexican immigrant to L.A., Santiago (Kuno Becker) works a landscaping job with his father, a restaurant job as a bus boy, and squeezes in playing for a Latin-American soccer team. When Santiago is spotted by a British scout his dream of having a life of soccer begins to manifest.
The scout, Glen (Stephen Dillane), offers Santiago a chance to audition for the Newcastle United soccer club if he can get himself to England. The first conflict involves Santiago’s father (Tony Plana) who rejects his dream and believes his son will fail and return home with nothing. With the help of his grandmother (Miriam Colon), Santiago raises the money to fly to England where he stays with Glen.
Glen continually implores Newcastle authority to allow Santiago chance after chance to convey his skills.
The story written by Mike Jefferies (writer of in-production “Goal 2” and “Goal 3”) is your typical kid has dream, parent has no faith in dream, and boy is mentored by former pro -type story. The basic plot is by no means original, but the struggles we expect in this type of film are a bit creative. The romance between Roz (Anna Friel) and Santiago isn’t bad. It is nicely downplayed and does not draw attention away from the main plot. A good amount of Spanish dialogue is used in this picture to the extent that, when the movie began, I thought I was watching a subtitled picture.
Kuna Becker (“English as a Second Language”) is a great lead. He’s cute, he’s Latin, and he can perform many a trick with a soccer ball. Becker is very capable of dramatic acting, but at times, it seems he is unsure of which dialect his character is using. Tony Plana (“Ugly Betty” [TV]) as the father had a good amount dramatic scenes, which he executed nicely. Soccer fans may delight at the good handful of soccer stars who give cameos. All other supporting characters were decent, but none stood out as a particular genius.
Director Danny Cannon (“CSI” [TV]) has assembled a rather beautiful film. He gives us lovely settings with great overhead shots of England, colorful clubs enhanced with fast editing, and the occasional deep-focus shot that makes for a pretty picture. The soundtrack isn’t bad, although I’m not sure why the beginning of the film featured what sounded like a Hindi song.
The DVD has a good number of bonus features. Two featurettes: one on the “worldwide soccer phenomenon” and one on the FIFA World Cup. A “Behind the Pitch” item explains how all the soccer action was assembled. Finally, audio commentary by the filmmakers and the music video for “Playground Superstar” are also included.
What it comes down to here is a piece with great filmmaking techniques and some good acting, but a rather hackneyed story. Soccer fans would enjoy this picture, but for everyone else who has seen too many I-have-a-sports-dream movies, you wouldn’t miss out by skipping it.
Specifications: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Widescreen (2.40:1). Spanish and French language tracks. Spanish Subtitles.
