The film is, by and large, absorbing. It is not simply a film about football although it is similar in some ways to the comic strip "Billy's Boots" that was in a now defunct football comic called the Scorcher.
It does however, go beyond this. It becomes clear that the boots themselves have no inherent power but simply act as a mental focus for the title character. Jimmys life in general is pretty grim and his football dreams provide something of a release. The film in this way provides an element of social commentary.
The only slight fault is one that occurs in most films about football (soccer)and that is the depiction of the game itself. How does one choreograph a football game? Passes, shots and even fouls seem artificial. Sometimes, as for example in "When Saturday Comes", actual game footage is spliced in, albeit not very well at others it is simply staged. This film appears to leave it all to choreography. I have yet to see a soccer film with a satisfactory depiction of the actual match action.
This is however, a relatively small matter in the context of the film. All in all it is an absorbing film and something of a modern day fairytale.
It does however, go beyond this. It becomes clear that the boots themselves have no inherent power but simply act as a mental focus for the title character. Jimmys life in general is pretty grim and his football dreams provide something of a release. The film in this way provides an element of social commentary.
The only slight fault is one that occurs in most films about football (soccer)and that is the depiction of the game itself. How does one choreograph a football game? Passes, shots and even fouls seem artificial. Sometimes, as for example in "When Saturday Comes", actual game footage is spliced in, albeit not very well at others it is simply staged. This film appears to leave it all to choreography. I have yet to see a soccer film with a satisfactory depiction of the actual match action.
This is however, a relatively small matter in the context of the film. All in all it is an absorbing film and something of a modern day fairytale.