Kicking It

Director: Na
Actor: Kicking It
Studio: Liberation Ent
Category: DVD

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Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 5 reviews
Sales Rank: 15428

Format: Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 99 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6

MPN: GEPD00146D
UPC: 858423001469
EAN: 0858423001469
ASIN: B001B3LIL0

Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: September 9, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
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Kicking It

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Customer Reviews



4 out of 5 stars What is the "It" in Kicking It?    December 4, 2008
The Captain (Bridgewater, MA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Often times people are quick to associate the homeless with being a lazy segment of society who really chooses nothing better in life than the lot that they may have been handed and perhaps even maintain a belief that if the homeless just showed a bit more motivation that they would be able to pull themselves out of the ruts they have found themselves in. While this may be true for a percentage of the homeless population there is a large segment of the homeless that because of no fault of their own find themselves living without a place to reside in abject poverty.

And while we often times hear about the horror stories that come associated with the homeless population, there is also some remarkable stories out there about the homeless and some of the not so terrible paths that some of them have chosen to take.

In the film Kicking It, directors Susan Koch and Jeff Werner film and document a usually unheard of annual event known as the Homeless World Cup. Hosted in Cape Town, South Africa, the Homeless World Cup brings together homeless soccer players to represent the nations that they call home.

Narrated by Colin Farrell, Kicking It is a documentary that follows the aspirations of six homeless soccer players from nations across the globe. While some have been addicted to drugs and have turned to soccer to turn their lives around, some of the others in the film simply find themselves homeless either due to war or pure poverty in the nations that are their homeland. With soccer players coming from nations like Ireland, Afghanistan, Kenya and the United States it is interesting to see the dynamics that take place between the young homeless men from each of the represented nations.

The movie does a good job at showing how the Homeless World Cup really does help to transcend the typical stereotypes cast toward the homeless and instead seeks to show how this event puts aside the negativity of the title "homeless."

One of the best scenes in the documentary is when the teams march through the streets of Cape Town in a similar fashion to opening night of the Olympics with one person proudly holding their nation's flag while the rest of the team marches along. There is some friendly banter back and forth between the teams but it is a very real testament to the fact that really all that matters at that very moment is playing soccer. Social issues, economics and politics are all put aside while the teams are at the Homeless World Cup.

Kicking It does a very good job and raising awareness to an event that honestly I had no idea took place. It is interesting to learn that such an event actually brings homeless people from across the globe together in one location to share in a commonality as simple but as invigorating as a game of soccer.

The film does a good job setting up the entire World Cup scenario as it does bring the viewer into the domestic lives of the athletes participating. There are interviews that take place in the homelands of each of the competing teams that are documented and while there is footage of the soccer that is played back home by the homeless teams pre-World Cup it is perhaps the interviews that focus on the individual outside of the realm of soccer that really is quite interesting.

The only down side to the film is that there are times when the movie becomes a bit too slow and perhaps drawn out unnecessarily. If the movie focused more on the interviews of the individuals alone then perhaps it would not seem this way but there are times when it almost seems like the movie needed a bit of a jolt to get back to the main purpose of the film.

The overall reason for creating this film to draw attention to something that certainly does not receive enough attention was certainly achieved by this film. There is a clear purpose to this film and the message comes across in a way that is both interesting and quite enjoyable. Certainly the Kicking It title has several meanings that all could relate to the film but at the end of the day putting everything else aside in the worlds around them what Kicking It really boils down to is nothing more than a common love for playing soccer.


3 out of 5 stars Street People transcend Homelessness Through Sport ..    October 9, 2008
Kevin Quinley (Fairfax, VA)
"Kicking It" is a soccer documentary profiling the World Homeless Cup. No overpaid athletes here - they are street people with a passion for soccer, or "football" as most other parts of the world call it. The movie features selected teams: from Kenya, Ireland, Russia, Afghanistan and the United States. Friendships and even romances bloom in Johannesburg during the soccer tournament.

For the most part, the player/participants can put aside their demons and become absorbed in the transcendence of sports, giving themselves new identities, goals and a sense of belonging that is lacking out on the streets. Suppressing these features does not always work, though. Occasionally, reality breaks through, as in the case of the Irish goalie who can't play a key game because he "forgot" to take his methadone.

"Kicking It" is a feel-good story, but let's not get too carried away here. For example, it would be nice and interesting to know, though, whether the sports experience caused any lasting changes in the lives of these men, or if they returned from the tournament to resume a harsh life on the streets. Such more troubling questions are sidestepped by "Kicking It" and might have to await a different documentary.



5 out of 5 stars Excellent Film - even for non-sports fans    September 23, 2008
Buy Art (Minneapolis, MN USA)
I ran across the title frames of this film as I was flipping through channels and decided to see what it was all about. First time I've EVER watched anything on ESPN.

I laughed, I cried, I learned and am here on TvBoxset to buy the DVD so that I can share it with my children. An excellent, excellent film that I'll never forget.


5 out of 5 stars amazed    September 10, 2008
B. Butler (Albuquerque NM)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Just saw it on ESPN2 by chance in a hotel bar on a business trip. It was incredible, inspiring, touching, magnificent ..... I could go on but you get the idea.


5 out of 5 stars Fascinating    August 29, 2008
E. Gerberich (Aurora, CO United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I am not a soccer/football fan. I don't work with the homeless. Yet when I saw this offering at the Impact Film Festival during the Democratic National Convention in Denver, I was intrigued. An *international* sporting event--for *homeless* people? Frankly, I was stunned to discover anyone had managed any sort of multinational cooperation on behalf of the disenfranchised at all, let alone from such war-torn and poor countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya, etc. Still, I was entranced to see the reactions of these "lost" men as they worked toward this single goal, and in the process acquired many of the skills they needed to better their lives, or, at the very least, the hope to hold out for a better future. My favorite part was seeing the reactions as these men, few of whom had ever left their home cities, let alone their countries, as they discovered their similarities as well as their differences with their counterparts from around the world. Not everyone went home with a trophy, but everyone returned with something infinitely better--pride.