Saúl Armendáriz, better known as Cassandro el Exótico, inspired an entire generation of fans of lucha libre, by proudly assuming his homosexuality and his eccentricity, in his traditionally macho environment. After being the subject of a documentary by Marie Losier, which was presented at Cannes in 2018, the character is today played by Gael García Bernal in a biopic by Roger Ross Williams.
From a commercial point of view, the filmmaker couldn’t have dreamed of a better actor to play the title role of Cassandro. Garcia Bernal (And you mamá also, Love for dogs) is undoubtedly one of the most famous Latin American actors of his generation. But in reality, despite his great talent, the star never manages to completely embody the essence of the character, in this altogether conventional portrait.
Nicknamed the “Liberace of the lucha libre », the real Cassandro el Exótico, many times world champion at 53, has just retired from sport. Starting in the early 1990s, he became one of the premier wrestlers exoticos to win major competitions. THE exoticos are luchadores who perform in drag or wear eccentric headdresses, sequins and feather boas, contrasting with the traditional style of masked and macho Mexican wrestlers. Many, like Cassandro, are homosexual.
If first exoticos appeared in the lucha libre By the 1940s, Cassandro was considered a pioneer, having won highly publicized fights at a time when wrestlers like him were doomed to lose and play in small amateur clubs. In the film, we learn that he had the advantage of having been trained in professional wrestling, unlike others who only wanted to make a spectacle of themselves.
Authenticity
At first glance, one could criticize Roger Ross Williams for portraying a very naive, even childish, Cassandro, given the poise of the real character. However, when we rewatch period reports as well as the documentary by Marie Losier (Cassandro the Exotico!2018), we see how faithfully the personality of the wrestler – gentle, sensitive and authentic – is represented in the film.
It is above all the superficial treatment of his relationship with his father, his consumption problems and his troubled relationship with fame which harms the credibility of García Bernal’s performance. And if the actor manages to get closer to the corporality of Cassandro, to his mannerisms, the fact remains that his obvious dissimilarity with the character is disturbing.
The uninspired staging also fails to convey the atmosphere of the wrestling matches. In his obvious attempt to create beautiful images – the photo direction is careful and the lighting is warm – Roger Ross Williams loses all the harshness, the authenticity, of the lucha libre. We would have preferred a hand-held camera, or at the very least more tight shots which, as in Raging Bull by Scorsese, show the rage, sweat and pain of confrontations.
Only his duel against the famous Hijo del Santo (1991), which made him known to the general public and which is presented as the climax of the film, proves to be worthy of real fights. For the rest, it is better to stick to Marie Losier’s documentary to see Cassandro, the one and only, remember his glorious years.