Pele: Birth of a Legend English Movie

Over the last couple of years we have seen many a biopic on screen, and each one makes your heart overflow with happiness. Pele's story may be raw and not as polished as say Trumbo, or Senna or Rush, but it has all the ingredients to make you want to stay until the end credits have rolled. May 13, 2016 By Manisha Lakhe

Never imagined what a self esteem decimating thing a loss in a game can be for a country. But when the country is Brazil, the game is personal, to every citizen. That's how crazy the Samba nation is about football. The loss to Sweden in 1950 had such a deep impact, even the poorest of the poor were depressed and so was the economy...

But the kids are shown playing galli football, playing in and around the huts, using clotheslines and shanty rooftops as opposite team is just marvelously shot and you are instantly transported to your own childhood where you ran wild in the neighborhood with friends without a worry. The kids in the film are simply marvelous. We don't think that they are a trope of friends: one rotund, one with glasses, one tomboyish girl and one hero. We just watch them fold socks into a football and play in the street, dodging people, and puddles and chickens and more people and angry parents and things. But it is evident that it is Chico who is the hero. He will not let the ball touch the ground...

We are introduced to Chico's parents - his dad is an ex footballer who is now working as a janitor after his football dreams were shattered and his mother who is now stern and practical and wants her kids to study so they won't have dreams shattering - and we learn about Chico through them. And as fables go, the more you are forbidden to taste that fruit called game and made to work, the more you will want it.

Chico (who grows up to be Pele) has a stubborn streak too. Life breaks his spirit but his dad is such a brilliant man - you will pray every dad is like that - he recognises the talent in his son and stands by him, sneaking him into an opportunity to play football.

I've given away the plot, haven't I? Nope. I have just offered you a taste of the forbidden fruit. You will get to see the beautiful game. You will see national pride restored (yes, it is footer history, after all!) and you will see how a young lad from the lowliest of villages learned to play the game and became the century's greatest sportsmen. You will even see the world cup game where Pele scores. You will see friendship, rivalry, poverty and grit and teamsmanship. You will fall in love with the magic of 'ginga', the magic of football...