A poor boy with big dreams finds a pair of strange shoes no one else wants. But once he puts them on, everything changes. He runs faster, jumps higher, and suddenly, the world sees him like never before, a true superstar.

‘SPOILER ALERT’

Christian Larou is an eight-year-old boy with the dreams of becoming a great soccer player like his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo. Christian’s father, George Larou, is part of the military, so, most times he’s alone with his mother, Kathleen Larou.

One day, Christian watches Ronaldo play on TV and hopes to be like him someday. Kathleen then joins him in the living room, asking who they’re rooting for. Christian explains that he admires Ronald so much that he wishes to be able to play like him someday.

Kathleen encourages him, saying that if he wants to play like Ronaldo, he has to put in hard work and prove himself to the coach so he can get more play time. However, Christian claims he doesn’t want to be a ball boy anymore and wishes to play for the national team. Kathleen then tells him that he can be anything he wants, and they hug.

After that, Kathleen stands up and heads to the room to work. A few minutes later, she hears Christian celebrating a goal and rushes down to ask who scored. Christian tells her it’s Ronaldo, and when she suggests watching the instant replay, Christian refuses and offers to show his mum a live example. He takes a ball and proceeds to demonstrate, but he breaks the window in the process.

Christian tells Kathleen that he wishes to score in the finals that way, but Kathleen is more worried about her broken window. She chooses to overlook it and asks Christian to go and get his ball. Outside, Christian runs into their neighbor, Mr. Frank Granger, and his boys, Ed and Donald. The boys forcefully take the ball.

Frank then shows up after the duo leave with the ball, asking Christian if his father is out on a mission. Christian asks for his ball back, but Frank pretends not to know about the ball and asks about Christian’s father again. Just then, Kathleen joins them and exchanges greetings with Frank. Frank then asks her about George, saying the country also needs heroes at home to lift their spirits and not leave them alone.

Kathleen smiles and informs Frank that Christian is her little hero. Frank then brags about his boys making the Soccer team, The Northern Stars. But Kathleen admits to him that his boys are really good, so Frank switches his tone and tells Kathleen that she should not hesitate to call him if she needs a man around the house to keep things running.

Just before they head back in, Kathleen asks Frank if he could take Christian to Soccer practice since she’s late for work, and Frank agrees. Back inside the house, Christian laments about Frank, saying he doesn’t want to be in his car because he doesn’t like him. Reminded by Frank’s question earlier, Christian is suddenly sad, saying he misses his father.

Kathleen tries to comfort him, but Christian wants to know when George will be able to watch him play Soccer, and she tells him soon. Later, on their way to Soccer practice, Ed and Donald argue about which one of them can play as well as Ronaldo. Frank then asks Christian what he thinks about the Soccer star.

Christian gives them a full and description of Ronaldo, causing Frank to mock Christian about being a Soccerer. And when Christian tells them that Kathleen says he can be anything he wants, Frank and his boys tease Christian about being a mama’s boy. When they finally reach their destination, Frank hands Christian’s ball back to him, mockingly referring to him as a ball boy.

During practice, Coach Dominic suggests to Frank that they change up their strategy if they want to win. Frank, who turns out to be the sponsor of the team, then tells Dominic that whatever change he’s making should be sure to involve Ed and Donald. But Dominic insists that something is missing.

Franks asks him what it is, and Dominic tells him he needs a striker with instincts. Frank then kicks a ball at Christian, telling him to make sure to get all the balls. However, Dominic asks Donald to sit out the next set so Christian can play. But Frank tries to discourage Dominic about putting Christian on the team, saying he can’t fetch them profit.

Dominic, on the other hand, has faith in the boy and insists that Christian takes the next set. Christian then joins the next set but fails to score a goal with each attempt. Later that night, Kathleen notices Christian’s mood and asks if he wasn’t allowed to play again.

Christian tells her that he did play but failed to score. Kathleen then comforts him and encourages him that there’s a next time. Christian then asks his mum why people hate, and Kathleen tells him that those people haven’t gotten rid of all the bad inside them. She also reminds him of his father’s words to never give up because success is the best revenge.

Once again, Christian tells his mum that he misses his dad. Kathleen starts crying, saying she does too. Meanwhile, George is at the war front with his men and a broken transmission line. Their commander has been hit, and things seem to be turning out for the worse.

The following day, Christian is practicing with his best friend, Julian, the goalie of the Soccer team. However, Christian is finding it difficult to get the ball into the goal. At his second attempt, he accidentally kicks the ball into a neighbor’s yard, Burt’s place. Kathleen, watching by the window, puts on the same expression as the kids.

Christian then walks up to the fence and apologizes to Burt but gets scolded about ruining his flowers. With no hope of getting his ball back, Christian runs off. The next day, during a local game, Christian is benched while the others play. Unfortunately, the team doesn’t seem to be doing well in the game.

During halftime, Dominic gathers the team to re-strategize, but as the game resumes, their team concedes another goal. Thankfully, a penalty soon presents itself, allowing the team to score their first goal. Dominic then argues with Frank about putting Christian in the game since he’s a better striker, but Frank discourages him, saying Christian can’t help them win.

Dominic, however, claims he’s the coach and insists on giving Christian a chance. He calls Christian and asks him why he thinks he should put him on the team. Christian tells him he wants to show his father that there’s a reason to come home, and that’s enough reason for Dominic.

He immediately substitutes Christian for Donald, to Frank’s disappointment. Christian plays a good game yet misses his goal, which allows his teammate to score at least. The game ends in a draw, after which Dominic praises Christian for playing like a champion, saying he was just unlucky with the goal.

Kathleen approaches them, agreeing with Dominic before exchanging greetings. As Kathleen turns to leave with Christian, Frank offers to take them for takeout, but Kathleen ignores him. Frank then informs Dominic that Kathleen is his neighbor and an army wife. He tells Dominic that people like Kathleen always opt for divorce, so he’s being good to her.

That night, Kathleen is working while crying since she hasn’t heard from George yet, when Christian knocks at the door and enters. He tells Kathleen that it was sweet of her to come watch the game and in return, she promises to never miss any single one of his games. Christian then asks if he can sleep next to her for tonight, and she happily agrees.

Back in the war grounds, the commander notices the look on George’s face, the face of a man who longs to see his family again. He then orders George to initiate their last resort. George then finds a fellow soldier, who is also panicking about surviving the battle. He encourages the soldier, saying he promises to get him home since he has done his job well.

Unfortunately, the soldier has lost all hope because of their commander’s conditions. After passing the commander’s orders, their trench gets hit, and George falls to the ground, unconscious.

Meanwhile, on the morning of the next day, Kathleen drops Christian off at school and kisses him goodbye. But as she heads for work, she gets a call from a sergeant, William, to inform her that her husband is MIA, which means Missing in Action. While trying to process the information, another car hits Kathleen’s car.

After school, Christian and his teacher continue to wait for Kathleen, unaware of what happened. The teacher then calms him down, saying that his parents have an emergency contact in case they’re unreachable. Just then, Frank, the emergency contact, arrives to pick Christian up.

When Christian gets into the car, he asks Frank for his mother. Franks then takes him to the hospital where Kathleen has been admitted. At Kathleen’s wardroom, the nurse encourages Christian to be strong for his mother before letting him wake her up.

Kathleen is in bad condition, but Christian tries to be strong, as promised. Kathleen wakes up to see Christian and tells him that she will not be able to come and watch him play for a while. Christian is okay with that, as long as she gets better. They hug, and Kathleen tells him that everything will be okay.

She also promises to send an angel to watch over him and reminds him to always say his prayers before leaving. The nurse then takes Christian back to meet Frank, where she informs him that Christian’s grandparents are deceased and that he has no close relatives. However, she also lets Frank know that he is the Larous’ emergency contact, and so he will be taking care of Christian until Kathleen fully recovers.

Later that night, Frank gives Christian the old, dark, and murky basement as his room. He tells Christian that he’ll take him to get a new pair of shoes tomorrow and to get his stuff from their house as well. But Christian cries, saying he wants his mother. Frank then tells him to go to bed and to call him if he needs anything.

The next day, Frank takes the boys to get new Soccer boots. However, instead of getting Christian something new like his boys, Frank asks the shop owner, Mercury, for something cheap or, if possible, free. Mercury then goes to the back of the shop and returns with a dirty pair of boots that came in because of a factory error.

Christian tries it on but doesn’t like it. Mercury laughs and tells him to give it a try, even though the boots look a little odd. Christian then notices some golden glow underneath the dirt and thanks the man for the shoes.

Later at practice, Dominic barks orders at the boys when Frank trips Christian, mocking his shoes. Dominic then sympathizes with Christian about Kathleen and tells him that he’s here for him. He also points out to Christian that he will not get a free pass because he has to prove himself and make his parents proud. And with that, he tells Christian to join the next set.

Annoyed, Frank tells Dominic that he wants his money back if Dominic keeps putting Christian in the game. Dominic then tells him that he’ll pay him back then. Just then, as Christian kicks the ball, the dirt on his shoes fly off to reveal golden boots. At the same time, Christian scores his first goal, impressing Dominic.

A while later, just as the game ends, Julian walks up to Christian to sympathize with him about Kathleen. He then assures Christian that she’ll be fine before leaving. That evening, Christian is practicing his shots when he notices something odd. No matter how he kicks the ball, it seems as if, Christian is unable to miss the shot.

Even Burt is surprised, an goes to confirm how Christian has not kicked a ball over his fence yet. He falls while doing that, and Christian rushes to check up on him. Burt then warns Christian about the noise, but Christian pleads with him, saying he’s trying to make the team on his own since his dad isn’t around to train him.

Burt feels bad, but tells Christian that it’s not his problem as he hates Soccer. When Christian asks why, Burt tells him that it makes people miserable. Christian then tells him he has a problem, but Burt explains to Christian that he’s okay with having a problem.

He then admits that Christian needs to practice hard if he wants to succeed and comes to the mutual agreement to find a way to numb the noise for himself so Christian can practice Soccer. Meanwhile, at the hospital, Kathleen meets a kind nurse named Mary White.

Mary feeds Kathleen some food and encourages her to smile for Christian because, according to her, the strength of a mother will lift the spirit of a child. On the other hand, Dominic and his team are at another local game, with his team losing and Christian benched.

During halftime, the kids return to Dominic with three goals conceded. Dominic tries to explain to them that if they lose this game, they won’t make it to the finals. He then concludes by telling Christian that he’s putting him into the game for a full half. Again, Frank tries to discourage Dominic saying he’s not being fair to Christian and is putting way too much pressure on him.

However, Dominic’s mind is made up, and he thinks that putting Christian in will help him take his mind off things. Furious, Frank gives Dominic thirty days to return all the money he has ever invested in the team, and Dominic agrees to it.

Before heading back to the game, Julian pulls Christian aside to ask him how it’s like living with Frank, whom he referred to as an angry person. Christian tells him that he thinks Frank became angry after his wife passed away and that life’s sad since he has to live with him.

The game continues and Christian outdoes himself, first by equalizing the game and then scoring them a penalty go that takes them to the next stage. After the game, a reporter approaches Dominic to ask for Christian’s name, which Dominic proudly gives out.

That night, Christian tries to reach his mother with the landline but is caught by Frank. Frank, who is still annoyed that his son was benched earlier today, orders Christian to go do the dishes. Later that night, Frank sneaks into the basement where Christian is sleeping and tries to steal Christian’s golden shoes.

Luckily for Christian, he wakes up at that moment, catching Frank. When he asks Frank what he’s doing, Frank lies, saying he was going to clean the shoes, but there’s no need since they’re already clean. He rushes off immediately, calling to his boys to better be asleep.

Meanwhile, News of Christian and his team making it to the next stage for the first time in history soon starts to spread. Dominic, who’s also watching the news, puts a call through to Mitch Mclaine, a US National Team official, to come to their next match, especially for Christian. Mitch agrees, saying he’ll be there, and Dominic thanks him.

The following day, Frank takes the kids to a restaurant to have burgers, but Christian refuses to eat because he wants to see his mum. Bummed as well, Frank tells him he wants to see his wife but he can’t and so he urges Christian to toughen up since he’ll see her later anyway. He also warns Christian to count himself lucky that he took him in and forces him to eat his burger.

Back in the hospital, Kathleen is watching a press conference with the president on the topic about the military when Mary comes in. Mary switches of the TV, asking her why she’s always glued to the TV screen. Kathleen then explains to her about her husband going MIA, and her hoping to hear something about him soon.

Realizing what she has done, Mary immediately apologizes. To lift her spirits up, Mary then informs her than a friend of hers called last night and there something Kathleen needs to see. She hands a newspaper to Kathleen and to Kathleen’s greatest surprise, she finds her little boy on the front cover with the headlines.

Proud of her boy, Kathleen suddenly feels the urge to talk to him. Mary then asks her to call him on phone and excuses her. Kathleen dials Frank’s land line but Frank intentionally ignores the call. Later at the next game, Dominic gives the children a motivational speech about winning, calling them his knights.

During the game, a news crew even show up to cover the event. But on their first half, the boys concede a goal. Dominic then gives them a new strategy to work with Christian. Immediately after the boys return to the pitch, Mitch finally arrives.

Mitch points out that they have a goal and only thirty minutes left and asks for whom he’s here to observe. Dominic then points to Christian in the number eleven jersey. However, Mitch says he’s coming from another game where he wasted his time watching another kid and takes out his phone to make a call.

Dominic asks him to switch off his phone and focus on the game but Mitch says he’ll be convinced to do so only if Christian’s performance makes him. With only few minutes left, Christian lands his first goal, and with one minute left on the clock Christian dribbles almost half the field and scores a second goal before running to the camera to dedicate his win to his parents.

Mitch is impressed and promised there will be opportunities for Christian if he continues like this. Dominic thanks him for coming out and Mitch promises to contact him soon. As the kids run to Dominic to celebrate, he breaks it to them that thanks to this win, they have progressed to the regional state championship game.

To celebrate the boys, he takes them out for pizza. There, Frank shows up and offers to buy Christian a new pair of boots, but Christian refuses and excuses himself from the table. Back in the hospital, Mary is busy tending to Kathleen when she remembers that there’s something to elevate Kathleen’s mood today.

She turns on the news channel, where once again Christian is talked about in the headlines and even shows the part where he dedicated his win to his parents. Kathleen is immediately elated, and shocked at how much progress Christian is making even without her and his father. Mary then comforts her, saying that she needs to get strong enough soon to get off the bed and go be there for her boy.

After Mary leaves, Kathleen tries to reach Frank again, but he doesn’t answer. Some time later, Christian is practicing his shots in the backyard with his golden boots to test his suspicions. After landing three successive goals, he takes off the boots and puts on his regular ones to try again.

This time, he doesn’t get any of the shots right. But little does he know that Frank is behind the bushes watching him. Later that night, Christian says a prayer to God for his parent and for God to help Frank.

The following day, Dominic follows the routine before games to get the boys motivated. Soon the game begins and goes live with an announcer covering the game. The opposing team scores a goal first, while The Northern Stars misses theirs.

After some minutes of back and forth, Christian eventually scores their first goal then a second. The kids then rush to Dominic to rejoice when Frank reminds Dominic that he’s owing. Unfortunately, Donald hits him with a ball, temporarily disorienting him.

That night, Christian comes down to the basement to sleep, only to find Frank snooping around for his shoes again. Frank lies that he was only tidying up and tells Christian to go to sleep, before leaving. Christian then checks under his bed to be sure his shoes are still intact.

After that day, Christian continues to make the headlines with his incredible sportsmanship. Kathleen and Mary, on the other hand, continue to cheer him on from the hospital TV, while Frank watches Christian from the sidelines with hate and an eye for his shoes.

Soon the Northern Stars are announced to have progresses to the finals for the very first time in a long while. At night, frank tries once again to sneak in and steal Christian’s shoes, but this time, Christian has the shoes on as he was expecting Frank.

As the weeks go by, every news outlet is reporting nothing but the golden boy, Christian and how he took his team to the finals. One morning, Kathleen calls again, and when Christian tries to take the call, Frank blocks him and answers. Kathleen asks to talk to Christian but Frank tells her that with the game coming up, and the kind of pressure that Christian is under, her talking to him might affect him.

Kathleen is sad but somehow sees reason with Frank. She tells him to send the message that she loves him and misses him very much, but just then, Christian raises his voice, saying he wants to talk to her. Kathleen hears him and asks if everything is okay, but Frank covers the phone and tells Kathleen that it’s just kids playing.

Christian then recites a familiar saying over the phone, prompting Frank to hang up quickly. He then turns to Christian, saying that he can’t believe that after everything he has done, this is how he chooses to pay him.  Frank also threatens to send him into the streets and asks him what he knows about defending himself.

Christian then tries to quote George, but Frank cautions him and tells him to go back to the basement. At the white house, the president is met with Margie Epburg, and her assistant who have taken an interest in Christian’s story. They have come to inform the President about Christian’s situation, and to find a solution for him mostly because Christian led his team to the finals for the first time.

The president then orders that George Larou must be present for Christian’s game which is coming up in two days. On the day of the finals, Margie pays Kathleen a visit at the hospital. Later, a press conference with the president comes on the news.

The president claims he wants to share a heartfelt story to the Americans. He then starts to talk about Christian’s story of how his father went missing in war, and how his mother was rushed to the hospital afterward, yet Christian was still able to rise to his full potential and lead his team to the reginal state finals.  He claims that Americans will always care for each other and that they as the government will protect their freedom.

While this press conference was going on, it turned out a search team had been sent out earlier that day to look for the missing soldiers. Eventually some stray soldiers were located. Back in the conference the president announces that he had called Kathleen this morning to assure her that he will everything in his power to find her husband.

With that, he is pleased to announce that they found Goerge Larou alive and that he’s heading back home. Kathleen is filled with happiness as she watches the conference with Margie and Mary. Mary then tells her to pick herself up and walk to her family.

Kathleen then takes her clutches and leaves the hospital. Meanwhile, Christian is getting ready for his big day in his basement room. After he is done, he walks up to the door only to realize that Frank had locked him in.

Back in the stadium, the team has arrived, and the game is soon to kick off. The Announcer notices that Christian is not here and points it out to the audience, saying he is the only thing missing from the game. The event actually kicks off with Dominic looking around, hoping Christian will be there soon.

Meanwhile, Christian starts banging on the basement window, calling for help. Burt’s dog, Charlie, hears the noise and rushes to the basement to find Christian, asking for help. Charlie then runs back to the yard to get its owner, who is surprised to see that Christian is the one causing all the noise.

Christian begs him to help him get out, and the man asks for a good reason to help him when all he has been to him is a complete nuisance. Christian then shows him a paper that reads that he is his angel. This melts the man’s heart, prompting him to pick up a shovel and ask Christian to step back.

On the other hand, the game kicks off just as Frank arrives. Dominic already on edge asks for Christian but frank tells him that Christian isn’t feeling too well and that he gave him some medications. Dominic is distraught but has no choice but to accept that Christian will not be playing in the finals.

After getting him out, he asks Christian if he is okay, and Christian assures him that he is. When the man asks Christian what happened, Christian tells him that Frank locked him in. The man realizes that with the way things are, Christian might need help getting to the game, and offers him a ride.

At the man’s garage, Christian finds a lot of soccer trophies to his biggest surprise. He confronts Burt about it because he remembers the man mention that he hated the game. The man then confesses that he used to be a very good soccer player.

But according to him, after his wife changed, he got involved in an accident that left him disabled. And while he should’ve been playing soccer at an international level, he was learning to walk again. Because of this, he turned his back on soccer since he couldn’t play anymore or even bring himself to watch it.

But then came Christian, who started training constantly, reminding him of his past. And once again, he fell in love with the game. Christian tells him that the story is touching and just then, they remember that Christian is late for his game and rush into the vehicle.

Back in the stadium, the northern stars commit a penalty, giving the opposing team the chance to score. Just then, the Announcer announces Christian’s entrance into the stadium, to Frank’s surprise. Dominic tells him that he thought he was sick, but Christian covers Frank and tells him he feels better now.

Dominic is happy that he feels better and urges him to save their game. Christian then reaches into his bag to get his golden boots, only to find out that they’re gone. He tells Dominic that he can’t play without them, but Dominic gives him a pep talk about how he has been the one playing, not the boots.

With this, Christian gets on the field in his regular old boots. At the first kickoff, Christian makes it to the post but misses the goal. But on the second try, Christian scores a goal, and for the first time, he does not have to rely on his supposed golden magical boots.

He dedicates the goal to Dominic, as the crowd goes wild. Even Mercury for the soccer boots is streaming and cheering Christian on, as well as the hospital staff. Soon, George finally arrives at the game to meet Kathleen who had arrived earlier.

With two minutes left in the game, Christian scores another goal, and this time he does it exactly how he had told his mother he would weeks back. And with that, Christian and the Northern stars win the finals, and everyone especially Burt is proud of him.

As the children rejoice, Christian commends Ed on a good a game. Ed then apologizes and confesses to have taken his boots, asking if Christian wanted them back. But Christian has realized that the boots are just boots, so, he tells Ed to just return them whenever.

The kids hug and continue to rejoice with their team. Christian then spots his parents and rushes to them. As the family enjoys their reunion, Frank shows up pretending to care, only to get punched in the face by Kathleen.

George is shocked, but Kathleen promises to explain later. Dominic then shows up and says his greetings to Christian’s parents. He then walks up to Frank and tosses the full payment receipt at him, kicking him out of the team management.

After he leaves, the US national official comes up to Christian and offers him a spot at the team. Christian immediately accepts, saying it’s his dream. He then promises to keep in touch with them and leaves.

A proud George then tells his son to go and get his trophy, leaving Christian to run off. In the end, Dominic and his little team lift their trophy, celebrating their phenomenal win.

With his dad missing in the war, his mom in the hospital, and people trying to bring him down, Christian keeps chasing his dream. And guess what? With a little bit of magic in his golden shoes, he makes it all the way to the big leagues! Do you think Frank could’ve been a better person? or what do you think would’ve happened if Burt wasn’t there to help Christian get to the game in time?

Golden Shoes 2015.