‘La Guerra Civil’: Film Review | Sundance 2022

  • 📰 THR
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 70 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Qulity Score:
  • News: 31%
  • Publisher: 53%

Eva Longoria Bastón’s doc recounts the culturally charged 1996 match between boxers Oscar De La Hoya and Julio César Chávez.

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Both of these men had movie-star looks, though they would have played different roles. Chávez, who grew up poor in Sinaloa, would have been a Charles Bronson tough-guy, albeit one with more zest for life: Comfortable around cartel bosses and a very big partier by the time of this fight, he would return from a night out around the time his rival got up to start training. He started inauspiciously, losing his first childhood fight to a girl.

De La Hoya, on the other hand, would have been a leading man in anyone’s book. Rather than doubt his roots, naysayers should simply have said the “Golden Boy” was too pretty to be tough. His story followed what has since become a familiar template: Pushed into fighting by men in his family, he made his amateur debut at six years old and, according to sportswriter Ron Borges, soon became “a business commodity for his father.” He had no childhood, no prom, just boxing.

The story now becomes one of sports-biz maneuvering. The elder boxer begins to flag after, celebrating a major victory against Hector “Macho” Camacho, he finally says “yes” to friends’ offers of cocaine. When the undefeated champ finally loses a fight, people handling De La Hoya see an opportunity to leap to his level. A bout dubbed “Ultimate Glory” is scheduled, preceded by a nationwide promotional tour that hit three cities in a day.

The public ugliness surrounding and following that fight are best described in the film, not here. But it’s good to see that both men, interviewed at length on camera, appear to have recovered from any ill will and made peace with their respective vices. They even seem to like each other. Maybe there’s a buddy-cop film in their future, featuring a grizzled old vet near retirement and his once-beautiful partner who insists he’s still light on his feet.

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 411. in US
 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.