Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

The daughter of orthodox Sikh rebels against her parents' traditionalism and joins a football team.

Director:

Gurinder Chadha

Writers:

Gurinder Chadha, Guljit Bindra

Stars:

Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 17 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Parminder Nagra	...	Jess
Keira Knightley	...	Jules
Jonathan Rhys Meyers	...	Joe
Anupam Kher	...	Mr. Bhamra
Archie Panjabi	...	Pinky Bhamra
Shaznay Lewis	...	Mel
Frank Harper	...	Alan Paxton
Juliet Stevenson	...	Paula Paxton
Shaheen Khan	...	Mrs. Bhamra
Ameet Chana	...	Tony
Pooja Shah	...	Meena (as Poojah Shah)
Paven Virk	...	Bubbly
Preeya Kalidas	...	Monica
Trey Farley	...	Taz
Saraj Chaudhry	...	Sonny (as Saraj Chaudry)

Storyline

A comedy about bending the rules to reach your goal, Bend It Like Beckham explores the world of women's football, from kick-abouts in the park to freekicks in the Final. Set in Hounslow, West London and Hamburg, the film follows two 18 year olds with their hearts set on a future in professional soccer. Heart-stopping talent doesn't seem to be enough when your parents want you to hang up your football boots, find a nice boyfriend and learn to cook the perfect chapatti.

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Plot Keywords:

tradition | hinduism | marriage engagement | lingerie | team | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes, to follow your dreams... you've got to bend the rules!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Netherlands] Official site [United States]

Country:

UK Germany USA

Language:

English Punjabi Hindi German

Release Date:

1 August 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Joue-la comme Beckham

Filming Locations:

Bara Hall Park, Hayes, Middlesex, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£3,500,159 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,001,795 (United Kingdom), 14 April 2002, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$161,528, 16 March 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$32,543,449, 23 October 2003

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$76,583,333

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kintop Pictures, Film Council, Filmförderung Hamburg

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Anupam Kher (Mr. Bhamra) is a superstar of Hindi cinema (a.k.a. Bollywood), with a career that spans almost twenty years, with nearly one hundred fifty feature films made.

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Goofs

When the men are fighting over the video camera at the wedding, one man gets it away from the cameraman and in the next shot the cameraman has it back in his arms and curls up on the floor with it.

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Quotes

Jules: Mother, just because I wear trakkies and play sport does not make me a lesbian!

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits feature cast and crew singing "Hot Hot Hot", with many of the lyrics in Punjabi. One group can be seen holding a "cheat sheet" index card, presumably with the lyrics on.

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Alternate Versions

Two versions of the Region 2 DVD exist. In the retail sale version the profanity during the closing credit outakes is bleeped out - in the video store rental version, available at the same time, it's left unbleeped.

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Connections

Referenced in Gilmore Girls: Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out (2005)

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Soundtracks

Kuria Punjab Diya
Written by Dav Raj Jassal
Published by Moviebox Birmingham Limited
Performed by Btwoone (as B21)
Courtesy of Moviebox

User Reviews

No pact with the devil here

My scalp still smarts from the burning coals heaped on it when I vowed I love this film. Bring on the coals; I'll walk over them as well to say again that I love "Bend it Like Beckham." Granted, there's a lot of "in spite of" in that confession. It's a bit movie-of-the-week; the screenplay is on the paint-by-numbers side. And, most troublingly, the director's commentary implies that in this film beauty can be found primarily amongst the white of skin.

The film's genius is not in what's obvious to the Syd Field-doctored eye: character arcs, themes, construction. It's in both the surface and what lurks deep beneath, but not in those layers of artistic topsoil that reviewers seem most often to scratch at. Powerful, sometimes semi-clad female bodies not simply on display but kicking the crap out of a football do a better job of naturalizing female strength and agility than Lara Croft or Zhang Ziyi will ever do. These are real bodies (Keira Knightley's excepted) whose work is not to look great first and kick butt later. They are working bodies whose beauty is in their movement and self-determination. And, in my book, lead actress Parminder Nagra is one of the most gorgeous creatures ever captured on screen – not only because she can lay claim to that hackneyed adjective, "luminous," but because her performance has an honesty and un-bookish intelligence that's utterly compelling.

The result is a film women can enjoy without feeling like they're making a pact with the devil to do so. As in Chadha's "Bride and Prejudice," the relationships amongst women sizzle with a chemistry that can't be neatly slotted into the stodgy, Sweet Valley High categories of "best friends" or "sisters." Perhaps Chadha is even right in her commentary to disavow the film's flirtation with lesbianism. "Bend it Like Beckham" has an electricity that can't be reduced to the simple hetero/homosexual love triangle its conventionally structured script would suggest. The precise nature of its pleasure is, ultimately, a bit of a mystery – and is all the more seductive for it.

Oh yes, and did I mention that it's hilarious?