Often I find myself clicking on random titles just because they are trending or new, and have audio description. Such is the case with The Beautiful Game, which immediately gave me mixed emotions. The film is about the Homeless World Cup (yes, Homeless, the film uses that word), that we’ve apparently been doing for some years now, where the unhoused populations of participating countries come together to raise money/awareness for their being unhoused. I’m sure people find this inspiring, but I also think can’t we just figure out a way to help the unhoused without making them play soccer for our enjoyment? Like, the losing teams go back to… the streets? Do the winners get homes? Sometimes, it is appropriate to advocate for yourself, and other times, it is appropriate for others to advocate on your behalf.
So setting that aside, I guess this is technically the most underdog sports story of the year. Our central focus is on the British team, whose ragtag membership is captained by Bill Nighy, The film does a good job of keeping the players balanced, and focusing more on their individual stories than the sport itself, forcing the audience to confront their empathic tendencies as these players lives are put out there without seemingly any attempt to filter.
There really isn’t another way of looking at this film, except from this perspective of people needing a home. The soccer sessions are few and far between. By focusing on this particular event, the film succeeds in raising awareness for the event, but the film itself does a better job of addressing the lost humanity when focused on people who need and deserve it.
The audio description, created by International Digital Center, written by Dakota Green, and Emily Eden does a good job of navigating through all the various storylines that are jammed into this film. Lots of different types, coming and representing a broad set of experiences. However, the focus being so wide, and the noticeable lack of soccer, makes this for just an average sports drama, whether I agree with the reasons.
Final Grade: B-
