Cassandro ***½ (2023, Gael García Bernal, Roberta Colindrez, Mark Vasconcellos, Andrea Pazmino, Yavor Vesselinov) – Classic Movie Review 12,650

Gael García Bernal has winning ways in the feel-good 2023 biopic Cassandro as Saúl Armendáriz, a gay wrestler from El Paso, Texas, who rises to world stardom in the early 1980s after he creates the flamboyant character of Cassandro as his ring persona. 

Gael García Bernal has winning ways in the 2023 biopic Cassandro as Saúl Armendáriz, a gay wrestler from El Paso, Texas, who rises to international stardom in the early 1980s after he creates the flamboyant character of Cassandro as his ring persona.

Saúl regularly crosses the border to his family’s native town of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, in Mexico, to participate in lucha libre freestyle matches, wrestling as El Topo until he meets new trainer Sabrina (Roberta Colindrez), who suggests he compete as an exótico (male wrestler fighting in drag), leading to his new identity as Cassandro and snow-balling success. The exótico would normally be a loser in the matches, but Saúl intends to turn his character into a winner. This succeeds in upending both the macho wrestling world, turning the gay haters into fans, and his own life by being too open personally in an ambiguous society. Everything comes at a price, apparently.

Roger Ross Williams directs the America/ Mexico biographical drama film in his narrative directorial debut from his screenplay with David Teague. It stars Gael García Bernal, Roberta Colindrez, Perla De La Rosa, Joaquín Cosío, Raúl Castillo, El Hijo del Santo, Bad Bunny, Mark Vasconcellos, Andrea Pazmino, and Yavor Vesselinov.

The film is good, and Bernal is very good, throwing himself into both the wrestling and the drama with gay abandon. His charisma should win most everyone over, just like his character does in the movie.

Cassandro is a big-hearted, well-meaning heart-warmer of a movie, with a carefully expressed series of messages, involving coming out – Saúl did it at 15 – having the courage to do your own thing even when others don’t like it, and just having the guts to carry on in the face of life’s adversities and becoming who you want to be. They are common enough messages, but they can’t be said often enough, and this film says them loud and clear, and feel-good entertainingly. Maybe the messages are a bit too clear, slightly unsubtly stated, but, then again, how can If you’ve got something to say, you might as well make sure you’re speaking up and out and that everyone’s listening.  It’s quite frank in places, with some strong language and a little sex. Talking language, it’s mostly in Spanish, but there’s quite a lot of English spoken too.

There’s a pro-women speech too for Saúl to say. He mentions both his mother and his trainer Sabrina, and these two offer strong characters for the actresses. Saúl’s totally in love with his mother, living with her like husband and wife after the father abandons them. Saúl’s also in love with a married man, and with a straight man called Felipe (Bad Bunny), but both of them can’t afford to be open. The Felipe relationship led to the media headline: ‘Bad Bunny Kisses Actor Gael Garcia Bernal in New Film Cassandro’. That should maybe sell a few tickets.

The excellent, largely upbeat score is by Marcelo Zarvos and the film gets a big lift from the feel-good songs from the disco era, including ‘I Will Survive’,  ‘Call Me’ by Blondie and ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’ by Baccara.

It had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on 20 January 2023, and was released by Amazon Studios on 15 September 2023 before streaming on Prime Video on 22 September 2023.

Duration: 107 minutes. Production: Amazon Studios, Double Hope Films, Motto Pictures, Escape Artists, Grand Illusion Films, La Corriente del Golfo, Panorama Global,

Gael García Bernal plays Saúl Armendáriz/ Cassandro.

The cast are Gael García Bernal as Saúl Armendáriz / Cassandro, Roberta Colindrez as Sabrina, Perla De La Rosa as Yocasta, Joaquín Cosío as Lorenzo, Raúl Castillo as Gerardo / El Comandante, El Hijo del Santo as himself, Bad Bunny as Felipe, Mark Vasconcellos, Andrea Pazmino, and Yavor Vesselinov.

Saúl Armendáriz (born 20 May 1970).

American-born Mexican luchador or professional wrestler Saúl Armendáriz (born 20 May 1970) works as an exótico for independent promotions all over the world under the ring name of Cassandro.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,650

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