Pelé: Birth of a Legend (2016) on Netflix
Brazil loses the 1950 World Cup, and Dico, a slum kid and Dondinho's son, promises his father he will win the title. A mispronounced name earns him the nickname Pelé.
- Netflix2.6/5
- IMDb7.1/1023,921 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes33%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1950, Brazilian fans follow a World Cup match on the radio, and the former footballer Dondinho listens as Brazil falls. His son Dico, a slum kid, hears the defeat and promises his father that he will one day lead Brazil to the title. While Dico and his mother, Celeste Arantes, clean a house, a group of boys comes in talking about an upcoming football tournament. Dico wants to join the conversation and says he would like to be like Bilé, the CR Vasco da Gama goalkeeper, but he gets the name wrong and says Pelé. The boys poke fun at him and use the name to tease him.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Pelé: Birth of a Legend (2016)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- José Altafini, portrayed as an antagonist in the film, complained he was never consulted and that the story got things wrong: he and Pelé could not have met as children, and they first met before the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, when he was 19 and Pelé was 17.
- A. R. Rahman's song "Ginga" was not initially part of the screenplay; it came about because he was intrigued by the word ginga, a style of playing football, and he played the track to the film's makers after he finished recording the score.
