Believe: A soccer movie

When I saw the title of this movie, I knew I wanted to see it...

...with my kids.

All three of my children are soccer lovers. So when I had a chance to preview this movie, I jumped at it. (Thanks, Deseret Book!)

We sat down to watch the film without much of any knowledge about it. (I'd jumped so quickly to respond that I didn't even read to the bottom of the email to learn about the plot!) The film is set in Manchester in the 1980s. (The color effects of the videography make it feel like an older film. My kids liked that.)

I'm going to give you the opportunity to choose whether or not you want the plot background. (See more below if you do.) In a way, I liked that we didn't know much about it; it allowed us to engage the film with no expectations or preconceived ideas. That made us work to understand what was happening.

And it did take some work at first. I feel the screenwriters could have done a little better job exploring the niggling, gnawing feeling Matt had about his past experiences -- giving a little more context for the change in his behavior from the beginning of the movie to when he starts to help the boys. Similarly, I feel like the "where has he been" elements of little Georgie's life were a little choppy as well. Still, it was fun to have light bulb moments as pieces of the plot puzzle started to fall together.

Once we got past the initial confusion about the story line, we were able to sit back and really enjoy the film. The first thing we noticed is that the children in the movie are really good soccer players. This delighted us all. We spent a few minutes trying to figure out if their playing was real or edited in. (It's real...be sure to watch the credits at the end to learn more about the children who acted/played in the film.)

We all cringed as we watched Georgie stumble along in his little-boy way trying to make his dream come true without letting anyone else help him. But we liked how his character developed as the movie progressed.

This film is different from most of the movies we have seen as a family, even though I'm not sure exactly how to articulate how and why it was different. I think it's the muted videography, perhaps. At any rate, we liked the differentness of it.

I liked that it was based on a true story. I liked that it took place in a different country from mine. I like that we had to work to understand some of the dialogue through the accents of the actors (well, at least my husband and I did). I liked Matt's side-kick friend, Bob; he made me laugh. I was delighted by the headmaster's character development. Some of those side stories really added to the whole for me.

I liked the scenery and setting and videography; I could almost feel the crisp, damp air of England as I watched. I thought they captured the life of the working poor really well. I loved the score and how it intertwined with the story. Some of the music is a bit unexpected. I liked that.

My son liked the fact that it felt real. My husband liked that it was set in a country where he spent some of his childhood. All of my kids loved the soccer, of course, and liked the positive message. I liked the fact that we could watch it together as a family.

The movie is about working for your dreams. It's about service, healing, closure, giving back, and moving forward. It's about the power of community and of good friends. It's about learning not to judge, about forgiving, about swallowing your pride and opening your heart. It's about doing and being good.

I recommend this film. If you see it (or if you want to see it) be sure to go the website or to Eventful -- Believe - A soccer movie to request that it come to your area. The more activity there is around the launch date of a film, the better chance there is that it will be shown in more places.

Believe opens in theaters on September 12.

Here is the trailer if you would like a sneak peak into the story.



Here is a link where you can read a little more about the main character, Matt Busby.

Believe won the Children's Film Audience Award in the Zurich Film Festival in 2013.

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