PELÉ Reviews: ‘Gripping’, ‘Enthralling’, ‘Excellent’
Pitch Productions film PELÉ has received effusive praise from football journalists and film experts alike ahead of its worldwide release on Netflix.
The Times, The Daily Mail, The Guardian, GQ, Little White Lies, Flickering Myth, O GLOBO, and A FOLHA DE S. PAULO are just a few of the reviewers to have shown their admiration.
Acclaim has centred on the film revealing Pelé the man, and his influence within Brazil during a turbulent period of the country’s history.
A selection of the early reaction to PELÉ:
‘The best sporting films, and for those who love a list Pelé deserves to be in the top 10, reveal the person as well as the player’
‘The directors … do not spare him’
‘Stirring narrative’
‘It explains the inextricable connection between Pelé and Brazil’s national identity'
‘Reveals more about the man than the footballer’
‘Directors Ben Nicholas and David Tryhorn are not here to merely embellish their subject’s bona fides’
‘Stirring and vivid’
‘Pelé’s extramarital affairs and uncomfortably close relationship with Brazil’s murderous military dictatorship are interrogated in some detail’
‘Pelé does not emerge as some virtuous conquering hero, but as a flawed and credulous star’
‘The film, which is bursting with glorious, jump-in-a-time-machine archive footage, is precisely the kind of concise visual document that a career like Pele’s deserved’
‘Genuinely touching’
‘The new film about Pelé enchants but it does not celebrate’
‘This Netflix documentary definitively shows us the greatest player of all time’
‘Pelé, of course, cries. And laughs. You will also laugh and feel like crying’
‘The film brings many precious moments’
‘There have been other Pelé documentaries, but this Netflix one is admirably focused, and skilfully interweaves the story of the great man’s rise with his country’s turbulent politics
‘Pelé is clearly a labour of love from filmmakers David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas, as captivating as its subject himself’
‘An incredibly moving moment that takes your breath away, realigning your expectations for the film as something so much more than simply a highlights reel'
‘You’ll be hard-pressed to find a subject as enthralling, human, or intrinsically linked to their culture and country as Pelé, and this documentary is a fitting tribute to that legacy.’
‘Candid and complex documentary’
‘Gripping film’