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Event
Cassandro The Exotico
Suns Cinema proudly presents the DC Premiere of CASSANDRO THE EXOTICO!
This stirring feature portrait of lucha libre star Cassandro in his waning years in the ring is less a swan song than a meteor shower rendered in Technicolor. Famed as much for his flamboyant drag and sky-high pompadour as for his show-stopping kicks and flips, Cassandros trailblazing ascent as one the industrys first openly gay wrestlers has resonated internationally for a quarter century. Marie Losier captures the moving, at times humorous, and always colorful dualities of this legendary figure with her talent for forging intimacy with a subject while celebrating his individuality broadly. Cassandro, a prize-winning fighter who reinvented a staunchly macho sport, exudes resilience of all kindsfrom the physical power to leave his opponents KOed to an ability to revisit past trauma and cope with the scars of a body pushed to its limits. Cassandros storyof an underdog and a queer icon, simultaneously fragile and mightyis ever more evocative as it unfolds on both sides of the Mexican-American border. Losiers signature 16mm filming melds tender encounters and larger-than-life fight scenes into a stylish whole that reflects the vivid textures and hues of a dazzling life in sport.
"This effervescent picture has an often infectious underground-movie aesthetic; my favorite manifestation comes early, in a sequence that juxtaposes Cassandros beaming face against a night sky full of fireworks." Glenn Kenny, The New York Times
"The camera loves Cassandro, the title character of Marie Losiers intimate and playful documentary portrait of the lucha libre wrestling champion, and he loves it backnot least because it lets him give voice to his real-life melodrama of struggle and success. Losier shows his astounding leaps and tumbles, and he shows the scars that resulted. Filming in the first person, she revels in Cassandros offstage charisma and in his acrobatic artistry while also revealing the authentic violence of the sports blatant artifice." Richard Brody, The New Yorker
"Ultimately, Cassandro The Exotico! is a phenomenal experience that succeeds in telling the story of this lucha libre legend. Its one part celebration of a wrestling icon and one part intimate examination of the sacrifices physical, mental, and emotional that he endured in order to carve his place in history." Jason Brow, Hollywood Life
"Its a moving and sometimes amusing portrait of grit and glitter overcoming adversity...." Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter
"Cassandro The Exotico! is a delicate and exciting documentary that is not to be missed." Fabien Lemercier, Cineuropa
"One of the most colourful Lucha Libre wrestlers, which is saying a lot, is profiled in this lyrical, entertaining documentary. Texas-born 48-year-old Cassandro (real name: Saul Armendariz) is thoroughly engaging, and filmmaker Marie Losier follows him intimately, creating a gently observant portrait of an outrageous man. While most Lucha Libre wrestlers wager their masks in matches, Cassandro bets his enormously fluffed-up hair. Of course, audiences adore him." Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
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LocationSuns Cinema (View)
3107 Mount Pleasant Street NW
Washington, DC 20010
United States
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