Product Details

• Actors: Kicking It
• Directors: Na
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Liberation Ent
• DVD Release Date: September 9, 2008
• Run Time: 99 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001B3LIL0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #234,484 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Kicking It" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

In the summer of 2006, thousands of players around the globe were training hard to compete in the World Cup...The Homeless World Cup. It began in 2001 as a wild idea to give homeless people a chance to change their lives through an international street soccer competition. Five years later, the annual Homeless World Cup has become an internationally recognized sports competition. 500 homeless players from 48 nations play from such disparate parts of the world as war torn Afghanistan, the slums of Kenya, and the drug rehab clinics of Dublin, Ireland, and the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina. What they discover is that anything is possible. Win or lose, it's the journey of a lifetime.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating August 28, 2008

By E. Gerberich

Format:DVD

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars What is the "It" in Kicking It? December 4, 2008

By The Captain

Format:DVD

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars PASSION WITH A PURPOSE !!! June 18, 2009

By The Aeolian Kid

Format:DVD

KICKING IT

Philanthropist, film-maker, and Washington Capitols hockey team owner, Ted Leonsis, has just scored a HUGE hit with the release of his latest film, KICKING IT. This is not your ordinary documentary film. It goes far beyond the usual run-of-the mill, historical, and / or biographical approach to covering a topic through the medium of film. KICKING it is highly unusual in this respect - and it's for the better. What a movie! I could not take my eyes off the screen for a moment. The pace of the film is perfect. It is never boring or even lagging or dragging its feet in any way for even a moment in the whole time you are watching. Indeed, the pace of the film mirrors the pace of an exciting game of sports. You will not want to even sneeze or blow your nose for fear of missing something interesting taking place up on the screen in front of you. I cannot say this for most films, let alone documentary films.

One part multi-biographical expose, one part historical commentary, one part political point-making, one part travelogue, and one part sports-action film, KICKING IT proves that documentary filmmaking can be art. The cinematography is beautiful and absolutely breathtaking in panoramic scope. It hits a new height in filmmaking and definitely raises the bar for all future film releases of this nature. Innovative and risk-taking, the producers and director of this new type of documentary have contributed something new to the world of film that we can all enjoy and learn from. I know that I did. I enjoyed KICKING IT from the very first scene, showing the moon rising in the night sky.

The directors, Susan Koch along with Jeff Werner, really put their heart and soul into this film. When a movie makes you feel like you want to laugh and cry at the same time - time and time again - that is one mark of a great film. KICKING IT will not only bring tears to your eyes and a smile to your face. It will uplift your spirit and help you see your life in true perspective, in the sense that there are always people who have it worse-off than you. If these people can turn their lives around, surely you can as well. No pity parties here. Nevertheless, it does not glamorize the approach of tough-love, either. Instead, it takes the middle ground and shows that just because you are down and out does not mean you have to give-in to despair. There is help out there if you want it and are willing to work toward improving your life conditions.

KICKING IT is a great film of human encouragement that works on a deep level of human psychology. It hits home. Because it relates to the plight of homeless people all over the world, more and more people in the world today will be able to appreciate the sentiments of this wonderful movie, especially now in this global, economic crisis when more and more people are losing their homes every day. It is no joke. Neither are alcoholism and drug addiction, which KICKING IT is not shy to delve into. There are many reasons why people abuse and / or become addicted to destructive substances, as there are many more reasons why people may end up finding themselves homeless one day. KICKING IT dives into all of these issues head first and tries to explain to the viewer how this can happen to anyone - without making you feel guilty. In fact, it might make a political activist for the homeless out of you!

If you play soccer yourself, or love watching a good soccer game taking place out on the field on a sunny day, you will really enjoy watching this film. It is EXCITING! Even for a non-sports fan like myself, I found myself rooting for the team from Ireland and jumping up out of my seat in our small apartment and waving my hands up in the air with joyous abandon in front of the TV. It is no coincidence that Ted Leonsis, who is a great hokey fan, would want to produce this film. The folksinger and songwriter, Loudon Wainwright III, once commented in a song on one of his live albums (A LIVE ONE, in 1979) that hockey was the only game he knew of that was not played with a ball, but with a puck! It also is a lot like soccer, using a huge net on the ground at both ends of the playing field / court where either team can score a goal. The players are passionate! KICKING IT shows to what length people who are passionate about what they love will go to in order to follow their passion. It shows how a village in Africa got together and constructed their own soccer field with their bare hands!

This is a great film. Missing it would truly be a loss for anyone who loves soccer, sports, or great documentary film making.

... YOWZA! - George Koumantzelis / The Aeolian Kid