Soccer lovers from the Middle East across Asia to the land Down Under have been engrossed by the happenings of the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia for much of this month. From Palestine’s debut in the tournament to the expected dominance of Japan, there’s been plenty of action. In recognition of the long-standing event we bring you some essential Asian soccer films stretching across the tournament’s broadened region.
Offside (2006, Iran)
Jafar Panahi’s story reached out to a global audience on its release not only for its timeliness with a World Cup but his regular political undertones. Never shy from controversy in his homeland, Panahi’s look at a group of girls caught trying to sneak into a World Cup qualifier is a comedy but still outlines the oppression females constantly face. A Silver Bear winner at Berlin and Panahi’s last film made before his well-documented arrest, it shows the impact of the world game in a very real way.
Shaolin Soccer (China, 2001)
Stephen Chow directed, co-wrote and starred in this tour de force of silliness and fun. When a Shaolin kung-fu devotee and his five brothers decided to assemble a soccer team, it becomes an action comedy blending the traditional martial art with the modern world game. Bad guys and a prize at the end give help the film’s unashamed looniness along. Be sure to watch the 117-minute version and not the US release, which had 30 minutes cut by Miramax and took nearly three years longer to be released.
The Cup (1999, Bhutan)
Widely liked on the festival circuit with selections at Toronto and Sundance, this is the first feature film from Bhutan to be seen internationally. During the France 1998 World Cup, two young Tibetan refugees in India go on the hunt to rent a TV for their monastery to watch the games. Khyentse Norbu, a pre-eminent lama of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, gives us a story that explores young relationships and finding common relations with older generations.
A Barefoot Dream (2010, South Korea/Japan)
Uplifting true stories are aplenty in the soccer world, and this co-production takes one of those and runs heavy on the underdog theme. Former player Kim Shin-hwan moved to East Timor and failed to run a successful business, but found himself coaching a youth soccer team to a major event. There’s not much in the way of surprises, but director Kim Tae-gyun handles the story well with good juxtaposition of the story and the reality of the East Timor setting.
The Heartbreak Kid (1993, Australia)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Uk54veAzCw
Before Australian soccer moved to the Asian region it was still immensely popular to play, and The Heartbreak Kid draws on the multiculturalism within Australian soccer culture. It starts as a story about a teacher (Claudia Karvan) who sets up a soccer team in a rough Melbourne high school and leads to a controversial relationship with Alex Dimitriades’ charming student. The film would inspire spin-off TV series Heartbreak High, which became one of Australia’s most popular shows during the ’90s.
