This film is an Anglo-Spanish co-production that brings to the cinema the biography of the famous Spanish bullfighter Manolete, whose brilliance and safety in the arena made him the greatest bullfighter of all time. The script, as is often the case in biographical films, creates some fiction around Manolete's historical figure, but he knows how to use his novel quite well with Lupe, a woman of ill-fame, to become lighter and more pleasing to the public. The relationship between the bullfighter and his mother is also dealt with in the film, which also includes the reasons why Manolete's collaborators saw his relationship with Lupe with a bad eye.
The cast is decent for a movie of this category. In the supporting cast stand out Santiago Segura, Ann Mitchell and Enrique Arce. The main roles, however, are assured by Adrien Brody and Penelope Cruz. This last actress seemed to me too much like herself, whereas Brody seems to be too erased and does not have the strength and the charisma that the personage asked him. Technically, the film has a nice cinematography and sound, the costumes are according to the environment and the season. The soundtrack is quite competent.
Manolete was undoubtedly a great bullfighter. Sober, austere, his spectacle was pure. He created some new grinder passes as well as a new style of bullfighting. His death, taken by a bull, led Spain to the commotion. This movie is a positive tribute, but you can stay away from what the fans would like to see.
