Two civilized countries fighting over a ball

Phorpa (The Cup)

(2000)

Just an excuse to talk about today's World Cup draw and the building tension and excitement of the 27-week countdown to 11 June? Well, maybe a little.

But also a delightful little slice of life of Tibetan Buddhists in exile in a monastery in India. It's July 1998, and the host team, with golden veterans like Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira, and Manu Petit, as well as a young, innocent striker named Thierry Henry, is on its way to its first and so far only World Cup championship. A young troublemaking monk cajoles some mates to sneak out to watch the matches on TV at a public house, and eventually prevails upon the abbot to let them rent a set and a satellite dish for the final.

The acting and production values are raw, but the ambience is as appealing as a saffron robe.