5 Best Movies About Football to Keep the Pitch Spirit Alive After FIFA, Ranked by IMDb
These films will show you a side of football that you won't see on TV.
The 23rd FIFA World Cup began on June 11, and the following month will be filled with news, scandals, and memes from the tournament.
While the matches are captivating, sometimes you want to understand what lies behind this sport: the drama, dreams, betrayals, and ups and downs.
5. 'Fever Pitch', 1997
IMDb Score: 6.6/10
Paul is a teacher in London whose life has been completely devoted to Arsenal for a long time. Even his vacation schedule is tailored to the club's matches.
Everything changes with the arrival of Sarah, a new teacher who doesn't share his passion for sports. Amidst a championship that could see Arsenal win their first title in 18 years, Paul is forced to choose between love and his obsession with the team.
Fever Pitch is an adaptation of Nick Hornby's touching memoir about his genuine love for football, Arsenal, and the unique atmosphere at stadiums. It is transformed into a romantic comedy about a love triangle between a woman, a man, and his favorite club.
4. 'Rudo y Cursi', 2008
IMDb Score: 6.7/10
Half-brothers Tato and Beto pick bananas in the Mexican wilderness. They spend their free time playing soccer in an empty lot in the countryside. One day, a soccer scout spots the talented young men, but he only brings one of them to the capital.
Thus begins the brothers' fierce rivalry on the field and in life. One becomes a star forward while the other becomes a goalkeeper who dreams of fame.
Carlos Cuarón, the younger brother of Alfonso Cuarón, made his directorial debut with this sad satire with elements of dark humor about how soccer transforms from a cool street game into a ruthless industry.
3. 'The Cup', 1999
IMDb Score: 6.9/10
Two young Tibetan novices, Orgyen and Lodo, arrive at an Indian monastery. However, their thoughts are preoccupied not with spiritual practices but with the upcoming 1998 FIFA World Cup final between Brazil and France.
Despite the abbot's strict prohibition, the two attempt to obtain a television and satellite dish in order to organize an underground viewing of the match.
Director Khyentse Norbu is a practicing Buddhist lama, so the movie is shot with an inverse lens – the exotic element is not ancient religious rituals but Western sports and pop culture.
The result is a warm comedy about the audacity of youth and, of course, football's ability to transcend boundaries and reconcile ancient traditions with modernity.
2. 'Gregory's Girl', 1980
IMDb Score: 7.1/10
Scottish teenager Gregory loses his place on the school soccer team when the new girl, Dorothy, replaces him as striker.
Obsessively, Gregory begins attending training sessions and even becomes a goalkeeper. However, this isn't due to heightened competitiveness – he's fallen in love and now wants to see Dorothy as often as possible.
Gregory's Girl is a classic of Scottish cinema, a tender and nostalgic story about coming of age and gender stereotypes. Director Bill Forsyth depicts teenage awkwardness without reducing his characters to objects of ridicule or caricatures of sexist views.
1. 'Offside', 2006
IMDb Score: 7.3/10
In the mid-2000s, women in Iran are banned from attending men's team sporting events. Several young female fans dress up as boys and try to sneak into a qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain.
On the day of this crucial match for the country's qualification for the 2006 World Cup, Jafar Panahi filmed this movie. For Panahi, soccer becomes an opportunity to vividly demonstrate the absurdity of Iran's patriarchal laws.
The girls dream of witnessing the triumph, but they are arrested by soldiers who are not aggressive monsters but equally confused people following orders they don't understand.
