Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2010

Kicking It:©Cabin Films 2008

The annual Homeless World Cup in Cape Town is an event that fairly cries out for a documentary. This perfunctory effort focuses on a half dozen individuals with troubled backgrounds from Ireland, Spain, Russia, Kenya, Afghanistan and the US of A. It follows them through team selection and training, and listens as they tell how soccer has given them a purpose, a direction, and some help in kicking (get it?) the self-destructive habits that led them to street life. Although there are few surprises in this ESPN social analgesic, it does offer some nuggets of inspiration among the predictability.