Bend It Like Beckham
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| Bend It Like Beckham | |
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| Directed by | Gurinder Chadha |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Gurinder Chadha Deepak Nayar |
| Written by | Gurinder Chadha Guljit Bindra Paul Mayeda Berges |
| Narrated by | Charlotte Hill |
| Starring | Parminder Nagra Keira Knightley Jonathan Rhys Meyers |
| Music by | Craig Pruess |
| Cinematography | Jong Lin |
| Editing by | Justin Krish |
| Distributed by | Helkon SK, Fox Searchlight Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 11, 2002 |
| Running time | 112 min. |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English, Punjabi, German, Hindi |
| Budget | £3,507,182 (estimated) |
| Gross revenue | $76,583,333 [1] |
Bend It Like Beckham is a British film starring Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley released in 2002 in the UK and released in Canada and in India in March 2003. The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha. Its title comes from the football player David Beckham and his skill at scoring from free kicks by "bending" (curving) the ball.
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[edit] Plot
Jess Bhamra is the 18-year-old daughter of Punjabi Sikh immigrants living in the United Kingdom who work at the nearby Heathrow Airport. While her parents push her towards academic achievement in the hope that she will achieve the financial success that evaded them, Jess only dreams of becoming a professional football player, confiding her dreams to a poster of football star David Beckham and by playing football in the park with her best friend, Tony.
After being discovered playing in a park by Jules, Jess decides to join a local women's team and keeps on playing secretly despite her parents' objections. She even manages to travel to Hamburg for a tournament with her team. She also feels a growing attraction towards Joe, the team's young coach, which sours her friendship with Jules, who is also infatuated with him.
After finding out, her parents become more strict and ensure she does not attend matches. Matters are brought to a head as the tournament finals coincide with the wedding of Jess' older sister. Jess' father repeatedly turned down pleas by the coach but finally allows her to go and play. The team is victorious, and Jess and Jules are offered football scholarships to an American university.
[edit] Cast
- Parminder Nagra as Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra
- Keira Knightley as Juliette "Jules" Paxton
- Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Joe
- Anupam Kher as Mr Bhamra
- Shaheen Khan as Mrs Bhamra
- Archie Panjabi as "Pinky" Bhamra
- Shaznay Lewis as Mel
- Frank Harper as Alan Paxton
- Juliet Stevenson as Paula Paxton
- Ameet Chana as Tony
- Pooja Shah as Meena
- Paven Virk as Bubbly
- Preeya Kalidas as Monica
- Trey Farley as Taz
- Saraj Chaudhry as Sonny
[edit] Release
[edit] Critical response
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times noted that the film caused, "a steamroller sensation at the British box office, becoming not only the first film by a nonwhite Briton to reach No. 1 over there, but also ending up as that country's top-grossing British-financed and -distributed film ever. It's a success both deserved and understandable [...] There is a reality underneath "Beckham's" easy humor, an impeccable sense of milieu that is the result of knowing the culture intimately enough to poke fun at it while understanding its underlying integrity."[2] The Times of India noted that, "Bend It..." therefore is really about the bending of rules, social paradigms and lives – all to finally curl that ball, bending it like Beckham, through the goalpost of ambition [...] The creeping divide shows that Britain is changing, but hasn't quite changed yet. The stiff upper lip has traveled miles from the time Chadha's father was denied a pint at some pubs at Southall, but like dollops of coagulated spice in badly stirred curry, discrimination crops up to spoil the taste, every now and then, in multi-racial Britain."[3] Planet Bollywood gave the film a 9 out of 10 and stated that the "screenplay not only explores the development of Jesse as a person, but also the changing values and culture of NRI teens: Jess' urge to break the social norm of the Indian homemaker, her sister's (Archie Punjabi) sexually-active relationship, and the gay Indian (Ameet Chana)."[4] The Hindu argues, "if ever there is a film that is positive, realistic and yet delightful, then it has to be Dream Production's latest venture directed by Gurinder Chadha [...] Light hearted, without taking away the considerable substance in terms of values, attitudes and the love for sport, the film just goes to prove that there are ways to be convincing and honest."[5] The BBC gave it 4 out of 5 stars and argued that "Mr. Beckham ought to be proud to have his name on such a great film."[6]
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave Bend It Like Beckham a rating of 85%, based upon 142 reviews (120 fresh and 22 rotten).[7]
[edit] Selected awards and nominations
[edit] Nominations
- 2006 Billie Award - Entertainment (Best film)
- 2004 Writers Guild of America Award - Best Screenplay
- 2003 British Academy of Film and Television Arts- Best film
- 2003 Golden Globe for Best Film - Musical or Comedy
[edit] Wins
- 2004 Pyongyang Film Festival
- Music Prize
- 2002 British Comedy Awards
- Best comedy film
- 2003 ESPY Awards
- Best Sports Movie ESPY Award
- 2004 GLAAD Media Awards
- Outstanding Film - Wide Release
- 2002 Locarno International Film Festival
- Audience Award - Gurinder Chadha
- 2002 London Film Critics Circle Awards
- British Best Newcomer - Keira Knightley
- 2002 International Film Festival of Marrakech
- Special Jury Award - Gurinder Chadha
- 2003 National Board of Review of Motion Pictures
- Special Recognition
- 2002 Sydney Film Festival
- PRIX UIP- Gurinder Chadha
- 2003 The Comedy Festival
- Film Discovery Jury Award - Gurinder Chadha
[edit] Soundtrack
| Music From the Motion Picture Bend It Like Beckham | ||
|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack by Various artists | ||
| Released | 2002 | |
| Genre | bhangra Pop |
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| Label | Milan Entertainment (US) Cube Records (UK) |
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| Professional reviews | ||
The UK release of the soundtrack features bhangra music, songs by Spice Girls' Victoria Beckham (whose song "IOU" can be heard during a scene involving Jule's mother but was not included on the original soundtrack) and Melanie C (Melanie C's song "I Turn To You" was used in the movie but is not included in the soundtrack) and the band Texas. It also features "Baddest Ruffest" by Backyard Dog, the aria Nessun Dorma, from Puccini's Turandot, and excerpts from the dance band Basement Jaxx.
[edit] US Track listing
- Craig Pruess & Bally Sagoo Feat. Gunjan - "Titles"
- Texas - "Inner Smile"
- Malkit Singh - "Jind Mahi"
- Katrina Martain - "Noorie"
- Victoria Beckham - "I Wish"
- Gunjan - "Kinna Sohna"
- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - "Tere Bin Nahin Lagda"
- Melanie C - "Independence Day"
- Hans Raj Hans - "Punjabiyan Di Shaan"
- B21 - "Darshan"
- Bina Mistry - "Hot Hot Hot"
- Blondie - "Atomic"
- Craig Pruess & Bally Sagoo Feat. Gunjan - "Hai Raba"
- Tito Beltrán - "Nessun Dorma"
[edit] References
- McGivering, Jill. "Football film spurs on Indian girls." BBC, January 17, 2003.
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=benditlikebeckham.htm
- ^ LA Times review
- ^ Times of India review
- ^ Planet Bollywood review
- ^ The Hindu review
- ^ BBC review
- ^ "Bend It Like Beckham". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bend_it_like_beckham/. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Bend It Like Beckham |
- Official Website
- Bend It Like Beckham at the Internet Movie Database
- Bend It Like Beckham at Box Office Mojo
- Alternative publicity poster
| Preceded by Blade II |
Box office number-one films of 2002 (UK) April 14, 2002 – April 21, 2002 |
Succeeded by About a Boy |
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