The Wrestler

Colour, 35 mm
USA, France, 2008, 109 min
Section: Horizons

Synopsis

"I don’t hear as good as I used to, and I forget stuff, and I ain’t as pretty as I used to be, but goddamn it, I’m still standing here.” Randy "The Ram” Robinson is a lonely professional wrestler pushing 50, who can now only look back on a once glorious career. These days, regional exhibition matches have replaced screaming headlines in sports magazines, and when he starts to have health problems, The Ram knows he’s at one of life’s major crossroads. After the opulently mystical The Fountain, Darren Aronofsky opted for a realistic drama that draws on the heritage of 1970s American films, specifically John Huston’s Fat City. The main role is depicted with excellence by Mickey Rourke, who "starred” last fall in one of the most closely watched comebacks of recent years, culminating in a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination. His own experience in the boxing ring enriched his portrayal of the veteran wrestler, as did Aronofsky’s restrained, authenticity-based directing style.

About the director

Darren Aronofsky (b. 1969), screenwriter, director, and producer, was born in Brooklyn, New York. After studying anthropology at Harvard University, he took a degree in film direction from the American Film Institute. His first film, Pi, premiered at Sundance and took Best Director, and was screened at the 1998 KVIFF as part of Variety magazine’s Critics’ Choice. Aronofsky gained a wider audience with the hallucinogenic drama Requiem for a Dream (1999). The movie was enthusiastically received by audiences at Cannes, Karlovy Vary, and many other festivals. The director’s next film, a "psychedelic fairy tale” entitled The Fountain (2006), was met with controversy when it premiered at Venice and elsewhere. Two years later, the talented filmmaker gained satisfaction at the world’s oldest festival when The Wrestler took the Golden Lion.