Bend It Like Beckham

"Who wants to cook Aloo Gobi when you can bend a ball like Beckham?"

2002 1h 52m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🍅

85%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.7

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 2,084🍅85%Rotten Tomatoes●66Metacritic★6.7IMDB · 120,160

ComedyDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Jess Bhamra, the daughter of a strict Indian couple in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton, who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.

“Who wants to cook Aloo Gobi when you can bend a ball like Beckham?”

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Cast

Parminder Nagra
Jesminder 'Jess' Kaur Bhamra
Keira Knightley
Juliette 'Jules' Paxton
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Joe
Anupam Kher
Mr. Bhamra
Shaheen Khan
Mrs. Bhamra
Archie Panjabi
Pinky Bhamra
Frank Harper
Alan Paxton
Juliet Stevenson
Paula Paxton

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gurinder Chadha
Writers: Guljit Bindra, Paul Mayeda Berges, Gurinder Chadha
Languages: Hindi, Punjabi, English
Countries: Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $77M — a 21.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Hindi, Punjabi, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gurinder Chadha, shot by Jong Lin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Craig Pruess. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Justin Krish shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gurinder Chadha directs. Jong Lin behind the camera. Craig Pruess scores. Justin Krish cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in Hindi, Punjabi, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $3.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $77M — a 21.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
3Released 24 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Hindi, Punjabi, English.
5International production across 3 countries: Germany, United Kingdom, United States of America.
6Directed by Gurinder Chadha, shot by Jong Lin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Craig Pruess. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Justin Krish shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley and Jonathan Rhys Meyers carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Who wants to cook Aloo Gobi when you can bend a ball like Beckham?".
11IMDB entry: tt0286499 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 15 themes, including "london, england", "sports", "tradition", "culture clash".

The technical file

Cinematography: Jong Lin
Original score: Craig Pruess
Editing: Justin Krish
Production design: Nick Ellis
Makeup / hair: Sarah Astley
Runtime: 112 min · 1h 52m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $3,500,000
Box office: $76,585,951
Return: 2188% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 66/100
IMDB rating: 6.7/10 · 120,160 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award17 wins & 20 nominations total

Also by

Gurinder Chadha

Stills · wallpapers

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-04-22
★ 6/10
"Jess" (Parminder Nagra) and "Jules" (Keira Knightly) are friends drawn together by their love of football. The thing is, neither of their mother's are exactly enamoured of the idea. With her sister's marriage looming, and her mother married at fifteen, "Jess" is facing significant hostility from her mother (Shaheen Khan) whilst "Jules" is struggling to convince her own mother (Juliet Stevenson) that she's not going to end up a lesbian with tree-trunk thighs. There's little danger of the former though as both have the hots for coach "Connor" (Jonathan Rhys Meyers). As the girls' team becomes more successful both have to juggle their family's reservations, their own lives and their love of the game - which actually features very sparingly. There are a few titter moments now and again, but I found that for the most part this is just a film about stereotypes - real or imaginary - populated by some really mediocre acting and not greatly enhanced by some banal writing and the always wooden JRM. It's also quite curious that it's co-produced by BSkyB yet they used the BBC's "Match of the Day" presentation team and their legendary commentator John Motson to give the thing a bit of body. It's harmless fun, quite possibly inspiring girls to play the game and some parents to let them whilst reminding us of "Brand Beckham" at it's most potent.

Production companies