Positive Reviews for "The Matador's" World Premiere at SXSW

Positive reviews welcome "The Matador" at SXSW

jaman.com review

SXSW Movie Review: The Matador

March 10, 2008


4 out of 5 stars

After seeing the terrific and brilliantly produced “The Matador,” I’m not
entirely sure I’m a supporter of bullfighting, but I’ve come a step closer
to at least appreciating the glory, grace, and the ancient purity of the
sport. The ritualizing of the kill has been a part of every ancient culture,
let’s be fair, but few cultures that have survived to modern times have
retained traditions as primitive — and with such popular zeal — a s
bullfighting.

“The Matador” devotes only nominal energy to parsing the moral issues at
hand, with anti-bullfighting advocates who intelligently voice their
assertion that the sport is savage and outmoded. In defense of his
profession, David Fandila — the charismatic and handsome subject of the
documentary himself points out — argues it’s far more humane and fair than
the obscenity of a slaughterhouse; here, the bull has a chance to defend
itself, and can even be spared from slaughter if it puts up a brave enough
fight. Point taken, but “The Matador,” finally, doesn’t adequately puts a
period at the end of that crucial debate; it’s an opportunity it misses. As
for the documentary, overall: It’s fabulous.

Director Stephen Higgins and Nina Gilden Seavey put together an immersive
portrait of Fandila, one of Spain’s foremost young matadors, who’s a
wunderkind at the start of the documentary, and among the elite when it’s
over. We get into his family life, the culture and controversy behind the
sport of bullfighting, and, beyond that, the rigors, discipline, and the
life-threatening risks of the sport. Powering the documentary are
Christopher Jenkins’ cinematography, Ian Rummer’s editing — both heroic in
their own ways — and the bravura orchestral soundtrack composed by John
Califra, which becomes a force in and of itself. I can’t say enough about
“The Matador’s” score: absolutely haunting, powerful, graceful, majestic.

Higgins and Seavey shrewdly follow the ambitious Fandila in his quest to
participate in 100 corridas (bullfights), a goal he seeks from one season to
the next, but from which he’s thwarted because of injuries. His family and
community fully support him, and he’s truly dedicated to his profession, and
even shares a certain mystical awe of the bull as I feel only the truest
matadors must. So, in spite of myself, I sympathized with Fandila, and found
myself in a kind of respectful detente with his profession.

After the documentary, the stunned audience cheered Califra’s score. The
composer was there, along with the director, cinematographer, and editor,
and they all received rousing applause for their work. I felt particularly
lucky for being one of the few who snatched up one of soundtrack CD’s that
Califra gave out, mobbed by his legion of newfound fans.