Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
AS SUMMER approaches, the blockbusters are getting ready to take over, but just before they do completely, the family drama Goal! has snuck in with a heart-warming story, about family, football, and the pursuit of the dream for stardom.
It is essentially, your modern fairytale; it is a flick about daring to dream and then taking it even further by following that dream, regardless of the risk. It manages to be occasionally exciting and generally heart-warming and so it scores well.
A BURNING PASSION
To some, the image of a group of grown men chasing around a tiny ball and trying to kick it through two posts (before someone knocks them over) might seem a silly way to pass time, but for millions of people it is a burning passion, either to be on the field of play, or to be in the cheering section.
So, real understanding of the impact of the football star does not come from seeing David Beckham brooding down from a billboard. The real impact comes from the joy on the faces of children just learning the game or playing for the joy of it. Goal! explores this love for football, both for those watching and those playing.
Directed by Danny Cannon, Goal! is essentially cut from the same cloth as Bend It Like Beckham. Like millions of boys, and a growing number of girls, Santiago Munez dreams of one day being a professional football player and he was a 'baller' born. However, as an illegal Mexican immigrant living in Los Angeles (like most of that city's population) the dream of making it to the professional level has always seemed out of reach.
SIDELINES
Though he dreams of riches and fame, Santiago has, thus far, only been able to look at it from the sidelines while he cleans the pools of the rich and famous. When opportunity final gives the much anticipated rap on the door, Santiago has to leave his family in L.A. and travel to Newcastle, England where he discovers a whole new language and a new pace of football.
Goal! is written in the very individualistic slant of Americanism and so rather than exploring the complex relations between father and son and allowing us to understand what drives Santiago's father, Hernan Munez (ably played by Tony Plana), it belittles him.
Yet, the film is energetically shot and edited to keep up with the pace and necessary stamina of a football game. Indeed, by the end of the show, Santiago's story is allowed to rest on the sidelines while football itself takes over.
