Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal ("Bitch love", "And your mother too") in the biographical film by Roger Ross Williams "Cassandro" wins hearts in the role of charismatic wrestler-magador Saul Armendaris, known under the pseudonym "Cassandro", who fought in the image of an exotic character ("ex?tico") has done the impossible and won the title of world champion in lightweight.
Libre ray literally translated from Spanish means “free struggle” and is an integral part of the culture of Latin America. Wrestlers, dressed in colorful costumes and masks turn the fight in the ring into a real show with acrobatic tricks without the limitations of Greco-Roman wrestling. The wrestlers of the libre beam are called “luadors” and the film “Cassandro” tells the story of one of the most famous Mexican rays Armendaris, who, without fear of public condemnation, openly declared his non-traditional sexual orientation and often performed without a mask, without hiding his face in the ring. Deciding to radically change the role of the wrestler, despite ridicule and insults, Cassandro became a favorite of the public and won the championship title.
“Cassandro” is the first dramatic film by Oscar-winning documentary director Roger Ross Williams and it catches the eye. Although he devotes enough time to the inner experiences and personal life of the hero, which only costs his trembling connection with his mother, he misses the opportunity to connect the lyrical moments of the film, which could serve as a catalyst for his development as a fighter, with scenes of training and fights. Williams as a documentary filmmaker is more interested in showing the life of the hero and his becoming as a wrestler, but this is not enough to intrigue the viewer.
The young wrestler has great ambitions, and he is ready to achieve his goals to give his mother a beautiful mansion in a good area, and prove to his father that he is worthy of his love and attention, but these impulses remain on the surface, there is no tear in the hero and the desire to achieve the cherished dream in spite of everything. It seems that everything is too easy for him. The growth of the hero as a radiator is certainly traced, training and fights in the film abound, but the inner growth of the hero is not noticeable. Despite the tragic events he faces, he remains the same guy with wide-open eyes and a radiant smile with a dream to conquer the ring as he was in the first scenes of the film.
Bernal, who at the time of filming the film was 43 years old, quite convincingly played the hopeful 18-year-old Armendaris, but despite his good form, his age gave him away, causing some dissonance in the perception of the hero. Also, despite the commitment of the director to tell the story of the Lucidor in detail, it is difficult to trace the chronology of events, because of this, the viewer is lost in time and there is a feeling that the narrative is compressed to several months, although the film takes place from 1988 to 1992.
The exhilarating soundtrack of the Brazilian composer Marcelo Zarvos, who wrote the music for more than 60 films, including “Miracle” and “False Temptation”, gives the film the share of tragedy that lies behind the makeup, sequins and leopard leggings of the wrestler, carefully hidden not only from the outside world, but also from the viewer.
Instead of getting to the bottom, the film for a long time tramples on the spot, from frame to frame showing the same type of battle scenes and dialogues that do not carry any semantic load. Williams does not show enough enthusiasm, as a result of which the picture is emotionally muted, devoid of brightness and at times seems depressingly superficial despite the fact that the film is full of memorable characters.
“Cassandro” turned out to be too serious, straightforward and quite standard biopic. Instead of fighting for the top, as in Rocky, the character arc in Cassandro is a smooth climb, relatively painless and fast. Bernal struggles to fill the gaps in the script with thoughtful and inspired play, but unfortunately his efforts are not enough to pull the film out.