The Matador (2008) Review

There is a skill and a challenge at being the best that you are at something. When it comes to stepping in the ring to box, you fight to win and become the champion. In the locales of Spain and Latin America there is a different kind of ring, where death is around every corner and the ultimate battle of man and animal takes place. That is the sport of bull fighting and out of one such venue there lies David Fandila, a man on a quest to be the best bullfighter there is not only of the present day but of the world and of all time and in the newest documentary The Matador, three years are documented on his journey to become the best.

The fans see him in the small villages as the biggest thing, but outside David lives a fairly normal life full of shyness and parents. Inside the ring, like any great actor, a larger than life presence gives way and the hard work of a bullfighter is documented extremely well thanks to directors Stephen Higgins and Nina Gilden Seavey's collection of interviews and battles in the ring. This is not Bugs Bunny or the average rodeo, but a venue thats smaller, an adreneline rush that's more vibrant and no one left unscarred or uninjured in the process.

Most times when this viewer watched this was reminded of producer Robert Evans (when he was an actor) in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises and the gorgeous scenic Spanish views but unlike that film, the look is present day, everything is real, it can get gruesome but it delivers well and with its short running time, it's a solid piece into the life of another hard working individual that strives to be at the top. Like the title subject, there are bumps and bruises and some bloody brutality but for what its worth this film gets across the trials and tribulations of one person viewed as many things: courageous, shy and a life in the ring that is no bull.