'Bend it like Beckham' is a rather old movie, but it is still popular. It has brought many stars to fame.
The movie is set in Hounslow, London. 'Jess' Jesminder Bhamra is an 18-year-old Indian girl who loved playing football and admired Beckham very much. Jess(Parminder Nagra) was to go to university very soon. Her parents were starting to try to stop her playing football completely when 'Jules' Juliette Paxton(Keira Knightley) invited Jess to her local girls' football team, Hounslow Harriers. Jess' parents are traditional Sikhs and objected strongly on her playing football, even though she was very talented. Joe(Jonathan Rhys Meyers), the coach of the team fell for Jess very soon. However, Jules also fancied Joe. This brought crisis to Jess and Jules' friendship. Jess' parents later discovered her playing. Finally, against all odds, Jess got her parents appreciation and went to Santa Clara University on full scholarship with Jules where they became professional football players.
The movie is directed by Gurinder Chadha and it brought her prizes in 2002 Locarno International Film Festival, 2002 International Film Festival of Marrakech and many more.
I like especially the costumes used in the movie. Splended, traditional Sari, sports wear of Hounslow Harriers and the uniform of Jess' father's...they all gave the audience very rich visual effects. It is also used to bring out contrasts in different characters, eg. contrasts in the clothes of 'Pinky' Bhamra's(Jess' sister), who was going to get married, and that of Jess'.
The acting of Keira Knightley, as Jules, was greatly appreciated with 2002 London Film Critics Circle Awards: British Best Newcomer. Her acting is rather eye-catching and convincing, especially in a scene when Jess and Joe almost kissed. She said 'You bitch', not with purely fury and disappointment, but with quiet anger and shock.
The movie revealed social problems like gender difference and how traditions my seem conservative and unreasonable. I think the strongest message is about racial discrimination. The reason why Mr Bhamra objected Jess' playing sports so much is that he was discriminated as an Indian when he played cricket as a young man. He did not want Jess to suffer. The movie also encourages the audience to pursue their dreams. As we see Jess fighting for her dream, we feel as if we have the same courage to reach an ideal like Jess to the end of the movie.
There are many echoes throughout the movie. For example, Joe and Mr Bhamra played cricket at the end of the movie, echoing Mr Bhamra's story. The movie also made good use of the rich sunlight at the football pitch where Hounslow Harriers have their practices. The make-up is rather light usually, bringing out a sharp contrast when Jess wore heavy make-up to a disco in the middle part of the movie. There are also easy laughs throughout the movie. It brings a humourous air and makes the movie sound lighter. The story and sets are close to daily life so it is easy to comprehend the feelings brought out.
However, I think that Jess and Jules seem a bit detached from the rest of Hounslow Harreirs' members. I also think that the crew can make better use of the spacious filming venues and the large number of actors they have got. For example, they can choose not to restrict the filming area to the sitting room and Jess' bedroom at Jess' home.
Although 'Bend it like Beckham' is a low budgeted movie, it is surprisingly impressive and with lasting popularity. Overall, it is a rather nice movie but I do not recommend it to people who are looking for stuns or much romances.
Teacher's comments: Quite rich ideas but can use more effective topic sentences!
Marks: 8/10
Bend it like Beckham(維基百科): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bend_It_Like_Beckham
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