Cassandro

García Bernal luce irreconocible en los zapatos del campeón de la lucha libre que creo una tendencia y, también se convirtió en la voz de una minoría. No está de más verla, haciendo de lado cualquier prejuicio.

Fantastic performance by Bernal, beautiful cinematography and score, and good direction save this film from its painfully mediocre script and one-dimensional characters. The pacing feels sluggish at times, but as soon as a wrestling match starts, the energy is back again. Although Bernal is fantastic (as mentioned before), he does look his age in most scenes and is not always believable as a 20 year old in the beginning of the movie. I do recognize the director's freedom in choosing not to tell the whole story of Armendáriz, but this choice leads to a significant problem: I can get why low points in a character's life would get in conflict with the inspirational and empowering character of the film's story. But it's also true that this eliminates any depth of the main character and the chance of the classical hero's journey. CASSANDRO tries something different from the standard biopic but sadly fails. I did think about something else, however: What if Almodóvar had written and directed this life story? Think about it, the idea is more interesting as it seems.

Gael García Bernal is marvelous as the iconic gay lucha libre icon Cassandro. Unfortunately, everything else is rather dull in this biopic. Side characters are not fully fleshed out, and the story doesn't fully explore the homophobia in Mexican culture. Either way, wrestling scenes are entertaining, and the soundtrack elevates some emotional moments.

Up until this film, director Roger Ross Williams had only made documentaries and it shows in his lack of imagination to give a more active setting to this chronicle, which could have lent itself to more, but he manages to pull through because the narrative itself is compelling, and Gael García Bernal fully embodies his character, which amplifies the audience's investment. However, the screenplay falls short in capturing the true struggle Cassandro faced in becoming an exótico luchador. When it comes to that regard this biopic goes the safe and easy route to put it more practically. Cassandro loses momentum as it approaches its climax, particularly because it doesn't adequately emphasize the significance of Cassandro's match against El Hijo del Santo, considering the legend that mask means in Lucha Libre, but for the most part it flows as well as its elements and execution allow it to.I liked it, I mean it's an extremely simplified film, but it served its purpose.

Una falta de respeto a la lucha libre mexicana y al gran Cassando, no reflejalo que es y los verdaderos ideales de la lucha libre y su verdadera visión. Lo único valioso es la actuaciónde Gael.