This film has apparently gotten lost in the sea of endless fight/dramas being churned out by the dozen. Most of them are brainless, soulless, low budget flicks with poor acting and low production values. "Mais Forte que o Mundo" is an entirely different animal. This movie is a towering achievement among boxing films, the "Rocky" series included.
It starts out deceptively simple, with a scenario of a group of barrio friends stealing a pizza and playing silly pranks on the locals. 10 minutes into it and the movie changes direction, like a left hook coming out of the shadows. This is an in depth study of World champ Jose Aldo's life, tracing it from his youth all the way to his winning victory and accepting of the golden belt. Like most males, most of what Aldo becomes has everything to do with his father, and their difficult relationship is at the core of this story. And rarely has a father/son struggle been documented so powerfully on screen. We also meet Aldo's "demon," an adversary that might not even exist, except in the mind of a man desperate to escape poverty, to save his mother from a horrible existence, and most of all, to prove his worth to his father.
What really impresses about this film is it's frenetic energy. In a lot of ways it is reminiscent of "Rocky III" in style and passionate energy. It succeeds in welling up a storm of emotions, from joy to tears, and this viewer found himself with teary eyes on a couple of occasions. Much of the feeling comes from the all around fine acting from the entire cast. Jose Loreto turns in a staggeringly believable performance as Aldo. Who is this guy? He's a real force of nature. Originally a mini series produced for Brazilian tv, this doesn't seem to be well-known outside of it's native land, which is a great shame. As a fan of boxing films like "Rocky" and "Gladiator," I can say that "Mais Forte" is among the absolute best of them all. Filmed on location throughout Brazil, and North America, with a large cast and some BIG fight scenes, this one certainly wasn't lacking a budget. Sadly unavailable in North America, I bought the dvd from a Brazilian mail order site. It's one to re-watch and share with friends..it's that good.
