Title: Bend It Like Beckham
Country:
- India
- United Kingdom
Year: 2002
Cast:
- Parminder Nagra
- Keira Knightley
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers
- Anupam Kher
- Archie Panjabi
- Shaznay Lewis
- Frank Harper
- Juliet Stevenson
- Trey Farley
- Saraj Chaudhry
SYNOPSIS
The daughter of orthodox Sikh rebels against her parents' traditionalism by running off to Germany with a football team (soccer in America).
REVIEW
Bend It Like Beckham is about two kindred souls who are willing to do everything it takes so that they could still do what they love the most despite many setbacks and oppositions.
I really admire Jesminder Kaur Bhamra, also known as Jess, and Juliette Paxton, also known as Jules, for being brave enough to play football despite parental disapproval, for working hard to become skilled players, and for being determined enough to follow their dreams of playing football professionally.
I think it's sad that although football (or soccer in other parts of the world) is a very popular sport internationally, there aren't a lot of proper leagues for women. It makes it more difficult for Jess and Jules to be taken seriously when they say they want to become professional football players when they don't have a lot of opportunities to actually do so.
Although Jules have it hard with a mother who doesn't understand her love for football, at least her father is supportive of her. Jess has it much worse because both her parents are against her playing football, and many things about it are not in line with her family's culture and traditions. For instance, women are not supposed to show their bare legs in public in Jess' culture, but a football kit or uniform consists of a shirt and shorts.
I realized when I was watching the film that it must be challenging to grow up in a culture where there are a lot of restrictions, such as on how to dress or what to eat or what profession to pursue. It can be very limiting; sometimes in small and superficial ways, and sometimes in much more profound ways.
The title Bend It Like Beckham refers to football player David Beckham's ability to kick the ball in a way that it can curve or bend around the player trying to block his shot, and Jess used the phrase when she said, "Anyone can cook aloo gobi but who can bend a ball like Beckham?" I think it's odd to use it as the title though mainly because you always need to explain what it means, and it's not particularly clear why it was used.
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Bend It Like Beckham
