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 |
| Starring | Parminder Nagra Keira Knightley Jonathan Rhys-Meyers Anupam Kher Shaznay Lewis Archie Panjabi |
| Music by | Craig Pruess |
| Cinematography | Jong Lin |
| Editing by | Justin Krish |
| Distributed by | Helkon SK, Fox Searchlight Pictures |
| Release date(s) |  April 11, 2002 March 12, 2003 |
| Running time | 112 min. |
| Country | UK |
| Language | English, Punjabi, German, Hindi |
| Budget | £3,507,182 (estimated) |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Bend It Like Beckham is a British film released in 2002 in the UK and released in the United States and in India in March 2003. The film was directed by Gurinder Chadha and was based on the screenplay she wrote with her husband, Paul Mayeda Berges and Guljit Bindra. The film's title is a reference to the English footballer David Beckham and his skill at scoring from free kicks by "bending" (curving) the ball (making it swerve as it flies through the air).
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[edit] Plot
Bend it Like Beckham uses the metaphor of football (soccer) to explore and discuss race, gender, and ethnicity in contemporary London. 18-year-old Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is a British Indian Sikh girl living in the western suburbs of London. Her older sister, Pinky (Archie Panjabi), is preoccupied with fashion and her upcoming wedding to her boyfriend Teetu (Kulvinder Ghir), who operates a successful automobile business. Jess' father (the noted actor, Anupam Kher ) is a Ugandan Indian and both her mother (Shaheen Khan) and father are Punjabi immigrants in Britain who work at nearby Heathrow Airport.
As Jess is the more studious of the two daughters, her parents push her towards academic achievement in the hope that she will achieve the financial success which evaded them. Their goal is for her to attend university and become a Lawyer. In contrast, Jess only dreams of becoming a professional football player, inspired by the football star, David Beckham. She expresses her dreams in two ways: first by secretly confiding to a poster of David Beckham which hangs in her bedroom (these "conversations" are contrasted in the film with her parent's show of veneration to a poster of The Sikh holy man or babaji, Guru Nanak Dev Ji); and secondly by playing football in the park with her best friend, Tony (Ameet Chana). As Pinky is getting married, Jess is deemed too old by her parents to continue playing football. Her mother tells her, "What family will want a daughter-in-law who can run around kicking football all day but can’t make round chapatis?" In response to her protests, her father also adds, "Jesse, your mother is right. It’s not nice. You must start behaving like a proper woman. OK?"
One day while playing in the park, Jess is spotted by Juliette "Jules" Paxton (Keira Knightley), a White British girl who is a player for the Hounslow Harriers (a local amateur women's football team), along with Mel (Shaznay Lewis), the captain of the team. Jules also struggles with her mother's (Juliet Stevenson) misplaced expectations. While Mrs. Paxton only thinks of dating and marriage for her, Jules hopes to play football professionally, a move which her mother equates with lesbianism. Unlike Jess, however, Jules is actively encouraged to play football by her father (Frank Harper), who is thrilled that at this stage of her life she is not interested in boys.
Jess happily accepts Jules' invitation to join the club, even though she knows her parents will disapprove. She becomes a key member of the side and is also befriended by her coach, Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). Joe is a White Irish Briton who was forced to quit playing football with the men's team after an injury. Although both Jules and Jess have a crush on him, Joe attempts to remain professional and distance himself. However, despite his best efforts, he and Jess are eventually drawn to each other due in part to their mutual marginalization from British society. When Joe reproaches her for fighting with a player from the opposing team, Jess tells him: "She called me a 'Paki,' but I guess that's something you wouldn't understand." In response Joe states, "Jess, I'm Irish. Of course I understand!" As their relationship develops, a feud grows betweens Jess and Jules.
After being told that she must stop playing football, Jess' parents discover that she has been lying to them and secretly playing with the team. Despite Joe's pleas to them that she remain, Jess is forced to quit the team. Her parents also discourage a relationship with Joe, a decision encouraged by Pinky who tells her, "Look Jess, you can marry anyone you want. It's fine at first when you're in love and all that but do you really want to be the one that everyone stares at [...] because you married the English bloke?"
During Pinky's wedding, however, her father (disturbed by the extent of her depression) allows Jess to leave a play in the finals. Pinky's happiness in marriage and Jess' in playing the game are juxtaposed through a detailed montage sequence. During the game, an American scout is impressed with their performance and offers Jess and Jules a place on the Santa Clara University soccer team in the United States. Jess returns to the wedding party (which was just finishing) and tells Tony what has happened, wondering how she will break the news to her parents. Although Tony is gay (something only Jess knows), he takes her hand and leads her to the living room where he announces their engagement. His only condition is that Jess be allowed to attend the college of her choice. Unable to allow Tony to make this sacrifice, Jess tells her family that he is lying and that she has been offered the chance to play football in the United States. While her mother is horrified, her father supports the decision. He talks about the prejudice he faced as a young man who wanted to play Cricket, a past which will be vindicated by Jess' new opportunities. He thus grants her permission to go. An elated Jess tells Joe that her parents are allowing her to go to the U.S. He attempts to kiss her, since he is no longer her coach and is therefore allowed to date her; however, she tells him that it's difficult for her parents to let her leave, and starting a relationship with Joe would be too much for them to handle.
At the airport, Jess and Jules' families say goodbye. Joe arrives to say goodbye and to tell Jess that he was offered a job coaching the men's team, but turned it down to help the women's team turn professional. He tells her that he told his estranged father about his new job, and she is pleased, since she had encouraged him throughout the film to reconnect with his father. Joe asks Jess if, despite the distance and her family, they might still have a chance for a relationship. They kiss, but are interrupted by the sudden appearance of David Beckham and his wife, Victoria (or Posh, one of the Spice Girls). Jess tells Joe that she will be back at Christmas and will try to explain her relationship with Joe to her parents at that time. The final scene of the film shows Jess' father teaching Joe how to play cricket (a sport for which he shows little potential) and the genial relationship which has developed between them.
[edit] Production
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[edit] Location
The movie was filmed in Hounslow (where the main characters live), Southall, Hayes, Central London (including Soho for the football store and pub), and Piccadilly Circus. Scenes were also shot in Hamburg, Germany. Heathrow Airport features prominently in the film.
[edit] Story development
Speaking at the Bombay Academy of Moving Images, Nisha Ganatra revealed that Bend it like Beckham was originally intended to have a more overt lesbian theme. The theme was eventually expressed through Tony, Jess' soccer friend. [1][2][3]
[edit] Release
[edit] Critical response
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times noted the 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."[4] 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." [5] 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: Jesse's urge to break the social norm of the Indian homemaker, her sister's (Archie Punjabi) sexually-active relationship, and the gay Indian (Ameet Chana)."[6] 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." [7] 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."[8]
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave Bend It Like Beckham a rating of 85%, based upon 142 reviews (120 fresh and 22 rotten).[9]
[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
[edit] Wins
- Best comedy film
2003 ESPY Awards
2004 GLAAD Media Awards
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
The soundtrack features bhangra music, songs by Spice Girls Victoria Beckham ( who's song IOU can be heard during a scene involving Jule's mother but was not included on the OST ) 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 the aria Nessun Dorma, from Puccini's Turandot, and excerpts from the dance band Basement Jaxx.
[edit] 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] See also
[edit] References
- McGivering, Jill. "Football film spurs on Indian girls." BBC, Jan. 17, 2003.
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.afterellen.com/archive/ellen/Movies/beckham.html.
- ^ Bend It Like Beckham - Lesbian Film Review
- ^ Ananova - Bend it like Beckham was nearly a lesbian love story
- ^ LA Times review
- ^ Times of India review
- ^ Planet Bollywood review
- ^ The Hindu review
- ^ BBC review
- ^ Bend It Like Beckham. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
[edit] External links
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