The Golden Ball

1994 [FRENCH]

Action / Comedy / Drama / Family / Sport

4
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 75%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 75% · 250 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.3/10 10 469 469

Plot summary

The Golden Ball is a wonderful children's film that tells of a young boy's dream of being a soccer player. Whenever a match is broadcast live in the village of Makono, Bandian and his brother keep their ears to the transistor radio, spinning a picture of the game from the announcer's commentary much as they fantasize themselves on the field. A gift of a real soccer ball, which Bandian paints gold, like a magical object involves him in a series of adventures which bring him in reach of his dream, but which also require him to make difficult choices.

Director

Cheik Doukouré Photo
Cheik Doukouré

Top cast

Agnès Soral Photo
Agnès Soral as Isabella
Mariam Kaba Photo
Mariam Kaba as Fanta
Habib Hammoud Photo
Habib Hammoud as Bechir
Aboubacar Sidiki Sumah Photo
Aboubacar Sidiki Sumah as Bandian
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
856.84 MB
1280*694
French 2.0
NR
us  fr  es  it  pt  ro  pl  
24 fps
1 hr 33 min
Seeds 1
1.55 GB
1920*1040
French 2.0
NR
us  fr  es  it  pt  ro  pl  
24 fps
1 hr 33 min
Seeds 4

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Marion88

Brilliant children football tale

I saw the film recently although it's not a new film, and I could not take my eyes off the TV screen: the kid is so charming, the story and the characters are so sweet you just can't get enough. The 8 year old kid, a football fan in this small African village realizes he needs to work 750 days to pay for a proper leather football. He breaks down. The doctor (Agnes Soral) in charge of the humanitarian hospital of the area decides to make him a big surprise: she brings a football back from one of her trips to Europe. The kids of he village obsessed with the fame of the Golden Ball trophy paint the ball with golden paint. Will Bandian (the kid) make it to Europe? The film depicts what must have been the youth of many a football legend. They enchant the pitches of Europe every week-end and the tabloids write about their salaries and their love lives. But where do these African stars come from? The Golden Ball gives us hints and shows the incredible obstacles these heroes of the beautiful game had to overcome to make it. A wonderful film for families and sports fans.
Reviewed by Fitzie22

Twelve-year old African boy hopes to become new Roger Milla and starts his soccer odyssey, facing all kinds of problems on the way

This is actually one of my favorite movies. It gives good insight in the daily problems that young Africans like Bandian face and the culture they grow up in. I myself think it's horrible to see that his parents, with the help of some medicine man, decide what Bandian should do and shouldn't do with his life. But it's also a film of joy and hope. Bandian meets new friends on the way and learns about trust and forgiveness. The film paints great pictures of the African landscape. By the way, if you're a soccer fan, you'll probably like the action scenes of Bandian performing magic on the ball. I'd give it a 8 out of 10 rating.
Reviewed by

Read more IMDb reviews

No comments yet

Be the first to leave a comment