Director: Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist
Cast: Leonardo Lima Carvalho, Kevin de Paula, Vincent D’Onofrio, Rodrigo Santoro
Running time: 107 minutes
In Brazil, footballers are not just men, but giants. And Pele was the giant among giants.
Pele: Birth of a Legend kicks off with a 17-year-old Pele making his World Cup debut against USSR in 1958, before
nutmegging back to flashback mode.
Cut to 1950: As the entire nation is left distraught after Uruguay demolishes Brazil’s ‘Ginga’ football in the World Cup final at the Maracana Stadium, their Mecca of football, a young Pele (played by Leonardo Lima Carvalho) promises his father that he’d win the coveted trophy for his country some day. He goes on to win three, but unfortunately the movie ends right after the first win.
He has a cliched family. An overprotective mother, who works as a maid, asks him to focus on studies. His father, whose professional football career was cut short due to an injury and who works as a janitor, secretly hopes to see his dreams come true through his son. He also has a younger brother and sister. Unable to afford a football, he and his buds roll up clothes from the neighbourhood into a makeshift football. They team up and take part in a local tournament, where they end up losing in the final. Pele becomes a household name in his neighbourhood and is spotted by a Santos scout.
However, a tough childhood marred by Brazil’s humiliating loss in the 1950 World Cup final, poverty, racism and a death of a bud make him lose his love for the sport. After school, he starts helping his father out, where they play football with mangoes during breaks, rekindling little Pele’s passion for the game.
His mother spots the father-son duo playing football and sharing a laugh and is now convinced that he should be a footballer. She invites the Santos scout to sign him up.
Leonardo Lima Carvalho, who plays the little Pele, does a delightful job. He makes us smile, cry and is one of the reasons why Pele’s childhood, which covers the entire first half, doesn’t get dull.
The 15-year-old Pele, now played by Kevin de Paula, joins the Santos youth team and becomes an international icon in a few years. His crowning glory? Scoring twice in the 1958 World Cup final to beat favourites Sweden.
The chemistry with Garrincha, who spent most of his career in the shadows of Pele, is refreshing. One has to mention Matthew Libatique, the film’s cinematographer, for bringing to life the Ginga, the soul of Brazilian football, with such exuberance. Lovers of the Brazilian flair and flamboyance shouldn’t be disappointed.
The real Pele makes a cameo appearance in the second half, sitting on a chair and sipping tea, only to be shoved by the reel Pele while playing football in the hotel lobby with his mates.
Our music man A.R. Rahman doesn’t get a lot of scope and samba beats aren’t his forte, but he does a decent job. His music complements the Brazilian footwork quite well.
It was about time we saw Pele’s story on the big screen. It’s just sad that there were just three people in the hall for the morning show, including myself.
Rwitoban Deb
Pele the film is a goal or a miss? Tell t2@abp.in