In the Arena

Finding a truly good movie to watch can seem a Herculean effort these days, but I was fortunate enough to finally get around to seeing The Matador, a documentary recommended to me by Ricochet member MLH in the comments to this post by Joe Escalante.

The Matador is about a Spanish bullfighter named David "El Fandi" Fandila and his quest to become only the thirteenth matador in the entire history of bullfighting to complete one hundred matches in a single season. The film centers on the 2003, 2004, and 2005 bullfighting seasons as Fandila struggles mightily to realize his dream. The viewer sees Fandila evolve from a promising, talented rookie into an experienced, battle-hardened veteran trying to fight off despair as his goal continually eludes him.

In addition to a portrait of Fandila in the arena, directors Stephen Higgins and Nina Gilden Seavey also show his life outside of the arena; the anguish of his mother and father, torn by pride in their son's achievements and mortal fear every time he steps into the bullring, the frustration of his fiancée whom he hardly ever sees, and the loyalty of his older brother who gave up a promising career in professional skiing to serve as David's second.

The directors also address the bitter controversy over the morality of bullfighting - interviewing those who wish to see the proud Spanish tradition of the corrida ground to dust. Though the filmmakers do not endorse either the pro- or anti-bullfighting side, the bullfighting critics come off as shrill and self-righteous, much like the larger movement of international socialism to which most of them are attached. One wonders if it was such tin-eared utopian universalism that motivated Spanish nationalists like José Sanjurjo and Francisco Franco to react and take up arms so many decades ago.

One of the film's most compelling scenes takes place when Fandila is attempting to complete six matches in a row before an adoring crowd in his hometown of Granada. Fandila is gored in the third match but manages to complete it. However, the injury is serious enough to require immediate surgery. Rather than ending his afternoon right then and there, Fandila insists that the stadium physician perform his surgery without any anesthetics so that he can return to the bullring within an hour and perform the remaining three matches.

Does Fandila return and complete his matches that day? Does he attain his goal of performing one hundred matches in a single season, and thus take his place alongside the greatest bullfighters of all time? For the answers, you will have to watch this wonderful, awe-inspiring documentary.