Redbelt (2008)

A fateful event leads to a job in the film business for top mixed-martial arts instructor Mike Terry. Though he refuses to participate in prize bouts, circumstances conspire to force him to consider entering such a competition.

Director:

David Mamet

Writer:

David Mamet

Stars:

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tim Allen, Emily Mortimer

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Max Martini	...	Joe Collins
Matt Cable	...	Academy Fighter
Chiwetel Ejiofor	...	Mike Terry
Alice Braga	...	Sondra Terry
Jose Pablo Cantillo	...	Snowflake
Emily Mortimer	...	Laura Black
Cathy Cahlin Ryan	...	Gini Collins
Luciana Souza	...	Singer in Bar
Cyril Takayama	...	The Magician (as Cyril Takata)
Scott Barry	...	Billy the Bartender
Ricky Jay	...	Marty Brown
Randy Couture	...	Dylan Flynn
John Machado	...	Ricardo Silva
Rodrigo Santoro	...	Bruno Silva
Ricardo Wilke	...	Eduardo

Storyline

Is there room for principle in Los Angeles? Mike Terry teaches jujitsu and barely makes ends meet. His Brazilian wife, whose family promotes fights, wants to see Mike in the ring making money, but to him competition is degrading. A woman sideswipes Mike's car and then, after an odd sequence of events, shoots out the studio's window. Later that evening, Mike rescues an action movie star in a fistfight at a bar. In return, the actor befriends Mike, gives him a gift, offers him work on his newest film, and introduces Mike's wife to his own - the women initiate business dealings. Then, things go sour all at once, Mike's debts mount, and going into the ring may be his only option.

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Plot Keywords:

fight | bar | debt | jujitsu | instructor | 

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Taglines:

There's always a way out. You just have to find it.

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Genres:

Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

14A

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Classics [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Portuguese Japanese

Release Date:

9 May 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ceinture rouge

Filming Locations:

Long Beach, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$63,361 (USA) (2 May 2008)

Gross:

$2,344,847 (USA) (11 July 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sony Pictures Classics

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ed O'Neill's practice of Brazilian Ju-Jitsu partially inspired Mamet to write the movie.

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Goofs

In the program opened by Emily Mortimer's character in the tournament, a freeze frame reveals that the bios for the fighters are simply a continuous block of text referring to a fighter named "David," and the text is repeated on the left and right sides of the program.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Mike Terry: Tie him up.
[to class]
Mike Terry: The hands are not the issue. The fight is the issue. The battle is the issue. Who imposes the terms of the battle will impose the terms of the peace. Think he has a handicap? No. The other guy has a handicap if he cannot control himself. You control yourself, you control him.
[to student]
Mike Terry: Take him to court.

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Connections

References Titanic (1997)

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Soundtracks

Voce Nao Me Ve
Written by Rebecca Pidgeon and David Mamet
Portuguese translation by Luciana Souza
Published by Dwight Street Music (BMI), Bella Panorama Music (BMI) and Songs of Windswept Pacific (BMI)
All rights on behalf of Dwight Street Music, Bella Panorama Music administered by Songs of Windswept Pacific
Performed by Luciana Souza

User Reviews

I'd love to dump on this movie for the pain it put me through

I've never rented a DVD that I had to take several attempts to see before. This hero's struggle was so painful to me personally that I had to take several runs at it. I'm a little surprised I made it through. Chiwetel Ejiofor as the main character, Mike Terry, is so perfect for the role it begs the question, Was this guy really just acting? The whole point of this movie, an homage to the purity of a certain sort of warrior spirit, is so unexpectedly plausible that I was taken aback. I thought David Mamet who had been involved in "Spartan", "Heist", "Ronin", and "Wag the Dog" to name a few other movies, was more predictably conventional and commercial.

This movie probably won't make a lot of money but it's a truly beautiful exploration of the potential for nobility in modern life. I kinda doubt whether they plan a sequel as the point has been made and it would take a truly extraordinary script to follow this little tour de force, but if there is one, I wouldn't miss it for the world.