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Only a few days left before the start of the Women’s Football World Cup. From July 20, the 32 best football nations will compete in Australia and New Zealand for the supreme title. They will try to dislodge the United States from their throne, the quadruple winners of the world competition still led by the iconic Megan Rapinoe (who announced that she would retire from sport in October).
Play it like Beckham
More than 20 years after its cinema release, Play it like Beckham remains to this day the highest-grossing film about football (as a whole) with $76 million at the worldwide box office. This comedy follows Jess Bhamra, a young girl of Indian origin, who lives in England with her family. While she only dreams of football and her idol David Beckham, her parents have another plan for her: to marry according to their traditions. Invited to join a women’s football team, she finds herself at the heart of a dilemma.
What explains the enormous success of Gurinder Chadha’s feature film? Beyond its very pleasant casting (Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley and Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and its soundtrack full of excellent artists (Blondie, Texas and even Curtis Mayfield), the story itself mixes themes around identity, self-affirmation and the shock of cultures. Acclaimed upon its release, Play it like Beckham continues to be one of the most influential films in the promulgation of women’s football. In 2002, the film’s lead actress Parminder Nagra, who had lied about her football skills to get the role, became the first woman to win the FIFA Personality of the Year trophy.
Watch on DVD.
Like boys
In 2018, it’s the turn of French cinema to dive headfirst into the world of women’s football. Directed by Julien Hallard, Like boys recounts the organization in 1969 in Reims of a women’s football match by a seductive sports journalist named Paul Coutard (played by Max Boublil). The editorial secretary and biggest enemy, Emmanuelle Bruno (Vanessa Guide), will support her in her project, launching the first women’s football team in the process. Against a backdrop of feminist emancipation, the film relates with great humor and empathy the slow emergence of women’s football in a France marked by ___ist stereotypes. Despite a failure during its theatrical release (barely 88,000 admissions), Like boys comes at the right time today with the upcoming start of the 9th Women’s World Cup.
Watch on Netflix.
