Film Review - Cassandro (2023)

At first sight, you’d never take Saul (Gael Garcia Bernal) for a wrestler. There’s none of the bulk that you associate with the kings of the ring, especially in the world of Mexican lucha libre, but he dreams of being a luchador (wrestler) and his elegance and agility gives him more than a glimmer of hope. And, in Roger Ross Williams’ Cassandro, it grows into a flame as the film follows the true story of his transformation into a drag wrestler, known to the fans as an exotico – a change that turns him into an international star.

Originally fighting under the non-descript name of El Topo, his regular opponent is El Gigantico, who more than lives up to his name and always, but always, wins. So the openly gay Saul gives the initial idea of being an exotico the thumbs down because they always lose. His new trainer Sabrina (Roberta Colindrez) persuades him otherwise and he decides to do it on his own . No mask – unlike all his opponents – vibrant costumes and make up and a flamboyant, joyous style that wins over his audiences by playing on his underdog status. His rise from the amateur ring takes him all the way to Mexico City, where fighting the legendary El Hijo del Santo turns him into a star and a role model for young gay men.

Cassandro’s story and larger than life character means he’s already been the subject of two documentaries, so this dramatized version isn’t perhaps the deepest of dives into his life. It’s closer to a love letter to a man who overcame poverty and overt prejudice against his lifestyle to achieve his wresting ambitions and become something of a figurehead. Not that it doesn’t come at a cost. As the film unfolds, the story of his fractured relationship with his father rises to the surface, culminating in a meeting where Cassandro has to make a final, painful decision. It’s a testament to Gael Garcia Bernal’s performance that, behind the energy, warmth and determination he gives the character, there’s always the lingering sense of a little boy desperate to please the father he idolizes – and always falling short. It never goes away.

Balancing that is his love for his mother (Perla de la Rosa). ing each other no matter how hard the times, she’s the one constant in his life but her absence from the latter stages of the film takes away some of its grit, with the narrative becoming softer and burdened with a sentimentality at odds with the first half of the film. She’s a powerful character, full of humanity despite life dealing her some rough hands. When she hears illegal immigrants running past their house during the night, she encourages her son to give them food and drink, despite their fridge being hardly full.

But this is Bernal’s film – he’s hardly ever off the screen – and speculation about a possible Oscar nod is already on the rise. It’s a heartfelt performance, as vibrant as his costumes and with a touch of mischief, but that hint of sadness always lingers just below the surface. He’s no saint, as we see, but our sympathies are with him right from the start and they never waver. More feelgood than it actually needs to be, Cassandro treads some familiar ground, but still makes for an engrossing and endearing film that will make you cheer its hero to the end.