107 mins |
Rated
R (for language, drug use and sexual content.language, drug use and sexual content.)
Directed by Roger Ross Williams
Starring Gael García Bernal, Raúl Castillo, Joaquín Cosio, Roberta Colindrez, Bad Bunny, Mark Vasconcellos, Andrea Pazmino, Yavor Vesselinov, Perla de la Rosa
Gael García Bernal nails his best role in years, giving a performance steeped in cheeky humor, resilience and radical self-belief — not to mention some amazingly nimble moves — as groundbreaking lucha libre wrestler Saúl Armendáriz in Cassandro. Seasoned documentarian Roger Ross Williams, who profiled Armendáriz in 2016 for the Amazon series The New Yorker Presents, makes an assured transition into narrative features with this entertaining biopic, which doubles as a gorgeous depiction of mother-son love and an exhilarating exploration of fearless queer identity in a macho environment.
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
That García Bernal’s own production company La Corriente del Golfo was involved — with Mexican artists in key positions, perhaps implicitly doubling as cultural consultants — as well as Ross Williams’ familiarity with the real-life Armendáriz, are likely the reason why the filmmaker successfully avoided making a film with a marked outsider’s point of view.
Carlos Aguilar, IndieWire
Read more...
Gael García Bernal nails his best role in years, giving a performance steeped in cheeky humor, resilience and radical self-belief — not to mention some amazingly nimble moves — as groundbreaking lucha libre wrestler Saúl Armendáriz in Cassandro. Seasoned documentarian Roger Ross Williams, who profiled Armendáriz in 2016 for the Amazon series The New Yorker Presents, makes an assured transition into narrative features with this entertaining biopic, which doubles as a gorgeous depiction of mother-son love and an exhilarating exploration of fearless queer identity in a macho environment.
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
That García Bernal’s own production company La Corriente del Golfo was involved — with Mexican artists in key positions, perhaps implicitly doubling as cultural consultants — as well as Ross Williams’ familiarity with the real-life Armendáriz, are likely the reason why the filmmaker successfully avoided making a film with a marked outsider’s point of view.
Carlos Aguilar, IndieWire
