Downtown Dawgs follows the true story of Esau and Mike, two counselors working hard to give Calgary’s downtrodden a second chance at life through the magic of the world’s sport, soccer. As it turns out, the two counsellors are putting together a team for the first time ever from western Canada to enter the Homeless World Cup. Started by Scotsman Mel Young, the tournament sees teams from all over the world competing for the cup. Held in South Africa, whose slums provide an eye-opening glimpse into global poverty, the tournament seeks to promote awareness of global poverty.
But back to the team; the Dawgs follow a simple mantra “clean spirit, clean body, clean mind.” By keeping players busy for a few hours a week, the program hopes to help wean them off drugs and instill a sense of accomplishment and self-worth that will help them pick up the shattered pieces of their lives.
Without giving too much away, the Dawgs face truancy troubles off the bat and the transient nature of the players makes them very hard to track down, but a few dedicated members stick through to the qualifying round in Winnipeg. There, the Dawgs face their Ontario counterparts and from this the Canadian national team is formed. There are a few challenges along the way and the lack of experience dealing with bureaucracy takes its toll on some of the players. Eventually, it’s all sorted out and they are off to South Africa.
The film is a roller-coaster of emotion and director Mike Scullian draws you into the player’s lives, each of their successes and failures become personal. By taking a close look at the real lives of homeless people, we are given an insight into the similarities they have with everyone else. They have hopes and dreams and goals, but for one reason or another have failed. Some are mentally ill, almost all suffer from drug addiction and have dealt with very disturbing personal lives, but underneath it all, they are just people, who have given up on the world that has given up on them.
Who knew a movie about the homeless could be so depressing?