Cassandro

Fantastic movie. Have not related to my culture like that in a long time. Refreshing. Emotional. Beautiful. Tears. Laughter. All around superb film. I am just trying to get enough characters. THIS MOVIE IS AMAZING IF YOU LIKE GAEL. His performance feels very authentic and heartfelt. Easy to see his connection to the culture. Displays a wonderful relationship between a mother and her lgbtq+ son. We need more movies like this. Family is at the core of most cultures but especially here as well as acceptance. Beautiful display of love, loss, friendship, and making peace with not needing a father to become a man.

I watched some footage of the actual Cassandro after we finished the movie, and it showed just how tame and bloodless this movie was. Why was Gael locked into this one bad haircut when Cassandro had great, grand hair?

This tameness also brings the storytelling down to a very banal level; the love story, the career rise-nothing felt like it had any real stakes. Only the relationship between Saúl and his mother raised this by-the-numbers biopic above the snooze-level.

I'm glad to have learned of this fascinating world of Lucha Libre and this interesting corner of queer culture, the Exoticas, but it could have been so much more fun.

Premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival at the Premieres Selection.

Firstly, I appreciate the movie exploring a humanistic approach on wrestling within the Mexican and LGBTQ communities as director Roger Ross Williams does a solid job on capturing the essence and atmosphere within the environment and characters. Wrestling isn't something I fully engage with so the movie wasn't something I was able to fully connect with but as a whole, the movie was a solid watch with strong performances and a beautiful visual presentation.

The production and colors are pretty good with the camerawork showing beautiful angles and shots around the setting. Williams direction, while it does feel a little stale, mostly was good as the direction was maintained well and strong. The performances from the cast members are all pretty good as each performances wee strong and engaging. Narrative-wise, the movie is the standard predictable biopic movie and if I had like wrestling, I would have connected with the movie more but since I don't, I struggled to fully engage with the narrative. I mostly found the narrative to be cliche and no fully investing. As the same for the characters. The character of Cassandro is likable as his personality, charm and chemistry is strong but regarding the other characters, I didn't found them to be as interesting or connectable to care much about.

Most of the sound design is good and moments with wrestling were well conducted and choreographed. Pacing does need some improvement. There are some dialogue moments that were a bit rough and not sure if it's just me, I noticed there were some really noticeable ADR moments that did took out the experience a little. Overall, it's a decent biopic.

Greetings again from the darkness. One of the possible indicators that a movie is well done and interesting is when it draws you in despite having no similarities to the world you live in. I was transfixed by this film from writer-director Roger Ross Williams (Oscar winner for MUSIC BY PRUDENCE, 2009 short) and co-writer David Teague. I am not Hispanic, have no affinity for wrestling, am not gay, and don't wear makeup or do drugs or crave attention ... all part of Saul's life in this terrific little film.

The always outstanding Gael Garcia Bernal gives a top-notch performance as Saul Armendáriz who transforms into the titular Cassandro, an Exotico luchrador in the colorful world of Lucha libre (Mexican wrestling). Tradition says Exoticos take a beating in the ring while being subjected to the rowdy crowd's homophobic slurs screamed at maximum vocal volume. But Saul, who took his performance name Cassandro from a soap opera, has a vision where he body slams tradition, and periodically wins matches while simultaneously winning over the crowd.

Saul and his mother (Perla De La Rosa) have a tight bond, one developed after Saul's dad left home rather than accept his son who had come out as gay. We watch as Saul's skill and notoriety improve thanks to his trainer Sabrina (Roberta Colindrez) and promoter Lorenzo (Joaquin Cosio). In this world, unique relationships develop, and we see Saul with both fellow wrestler Gerardo (Raul Castillo) and Lorenzo's right-hand man Felipe (Bad Bunny). Ever-present is the cloud of 'daddy issues' that Saul carries, and we do wonder if the situation with his religious and closed-minded father (Robert Salas) will be resolved.

There is an odd cadence to the story's progression, and a few times it feels like the script skips through some important moments, while dwelling on some lesser scenes. Examples of this include Cassandro's climb to fame and an awkward talk show appearance where he is treated as a role model by a gay youngster. Still, the performance from Gael Garcia Bernal is so strong and charming ... his face truly lights up while in the ring ... that we can imagine on our own how he climbed the ladder of Lucha libre, as he instills in us the message of being who you are and staying true to yourself. All of this is complemented by a terrific score from Brazilian composer Marcelo Zarvos, who excels in the use of the trumpet here.

Opening in theaters on September 15, 2023 and on Prime Video beginning September 22.

No pun intended - I reckon if you know a little bit about Wrestling, than I assume you have heard of the Macho Man. Maybe you've even seen him (live or in clips). But this is not so much about the American Wrestling world, but more of the Lucha Libres ... Mexican style if you want to call it that.

I am not an expert in that world and apart from a movie or two, I got most things from someone who made it in America: Rey Mysterio. What I didn't know for a long time: Wrestlers really need their masks! Unmasking one is an absolute no go - they lose everything. There is stuff to learn (history and all that), if you want to. Cassandro is a completely different beast - though I am not sure beast is something many would call him. Actually they call him an exoctico - I don't think I need to translate that.

Gael Garcia is an amazing actor - you probably know by now. Here he is playing a real individual - someone who had to overcome his own shadow/sexuality ... or rather what others think of that. Not easy - performing laying it all out for everyone to see ... and you can see it in his performance. It is in the eyes as someone once said - probably a lot have said that. But it is true, so there you go.

The wrestling scenes are really well done - there is a lot of physicality to them. Love life there is also some physicality, not that much though if you are afraid of that. So depending on how open minded you are, you may be able to watch this or not. I am not judging either way - you may be. Again this is up to you - one thing is for sure: do not watch this if you know you will be repelled by it! You won't do anyone a favor - quite the opposite.

In the end we are all human, we all want to be loved one way or another ... multiple ways for some of course. It's a struggle, it is a fight ... always get up when down (easier said then done, I know .. but you have to keep remembering this)