Gored:
A Love Story (2015/MVD Visual DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: C Extras: D Documentary: C+
Antonio
Barrara is know as current the most 'gored' bull fighter in history,
to be impaled in the bull fighting ring. Bullfighting was considered
national sport in Spain and Mexico, and it is considered an honor, a
dance to the death where if you were a successful bullfighter you
could become almost like a rock star or national hero. Ido Mizrahi's
Gored: A Love Story (2015) looks at his life and the
ever-controversial sport.
Why
do bull fighters fight? For glory? For honor? Antonio Barrara has
been bull fighting since he was a child and has be 'gored' 23 times,
to him bull fighting is a way of life. To feel the adrenaline when
he going against a half-ton creature that could kill him. It is like
asking why hunters hunt if they don't need the meat or why do dare
devils risk their lives. But what set Antonio apart is that for all
the time he was gored, if he could still stand he would always return
to the ring.
Bullfighting...
it reminds me of the Roman Colosseum and gladiators. While only
slightly less humane there are those who still consider it a cruelty
to enrage an animal and make it slowly bleed to death as a matador
slowly taunts it to death (at risk of his own life an limb). While
it's origins and culture makes it seem like an honor, today in modern
society it like watching a dog/chicken fight to the death, it is a
stunt at best. Antonio Barrera's last bull died without fighting, it
stopped in mid fight as if it was too tired ...just cried and died,
as if it understood it was going to die no matter what, a testament
to all the bulls and bullfighting itself. This is an
interesting-enough look at all of this, but many may still pass, not
caring for the violence or boycotting the event.
The
anamorphically-enhanced 1.78 X 1 image looks pretty good for this
format throughout, but the lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 sound has location
audio issues and is barely stereo. There are no extras.
-
Ricky Chiang
