Teenager Jess doesn’t want to end up as a boring solicitor.  She wants to play football like her hero, David Beckham. But being a girl, her chances are limited to having a kick about in the local park and, being an Asian girl, her family don’t even agree with her doing that! Her mum says, ‘Who’d want a girl who plays football all day but can’t make chapattis?’

If they knew she was playing with the Hounslow Harriers women’s team, they’d have a collective fit.

Following on from the success of her earlier comedies ‘Bhaji on the Beach’ and ‘What’s cooking?’, Gurinder Chadha turns this British-Asian film about a clash between traditional values and the modern world into a fantastic feel good movie. Chock full of wonderful characters – Jess’ long-suffering mother, her promiscuous sister, and her fellow teammates – ‘Beckham‘ is a real crowd pleaser.

Chadha tackles a few interesting topics in this film, including gender issues, cross-cultural differences and matters of the heart.

What problems do you think come up in this film from a religious and moral point of view?

The Problems?

h  Sexism? – ‘Who wants to cook aloo gobhi when you can bend the ball like Beckham?’

h  Inter- religious problems?

h  Inter racial relationships?

h Arranged marriages?

h Homosexual / lesbian relationships?

h Racism?

h Generation gap?

h Immigrants V 1^st generation British?