The Critic's Screen: A Biography, Life and Migration

Unstoppable ★★★☆

* The biography of an athlete is almost unbelievable

* Toronto Festival Performances | United States, 2024

There are many “clichés” in sports films: such as scenes of an athlete rising from nowhere, the obstacles he faces, the psychological problems he suffers from, some people’s doubts that he will achieve the expected success, and in the end the expected success actually happens and the “hero” achieves what he dreamed of.

This is the recipe for “Rambo” and what came before and after it, and the movie “Unstoppable” is not devoid of it. The only special thing is that this athlete is the teenage wrestler Anthony (Jarrel Jerome), who was born with one leg. Everyone, from the beginning of the film, does not believe that he will win his rounds, except for his mother, Judy (Jennifer Lopez), who knows how much Anthony has suffered in his life and how challenging he worked to get into the ring despite his disability. Starting with his stepfather (Bobby Cannavale), he despised and mistreated him since Anthony was a teenage boy.

The image of the father (the film is based on a book written by Anthony Robles about his life) joins multiple images of athletes who suffered from the influence of their fathers, including “The Warrior” by Kevin O’Connor in 2011, and “The Iron Claw” by Sean Durkin in 2023. But because of these troubles, Anthony’s determination increases. He is ready to challenge and win his matches, following his own style that turns his disadvantage into an advantage. Her effect on the viewer is a mixture of support and fear for him (this is also his mother’s position). Actor Jerome did not perform the ring scenes, but rather the athlete Robles was brought in to perform those scenes.

This is the first film by William Goldenberg, who previously worked behind the editing table, and it combines a tragic story in its origins and arduous situations with a thread of desire to reach a wide audience who will find Robles' heroism worth watching.

Anywhere, anytime ★★★

* A drama about another African suffering from the scourges of European immigration

* Venice and Toronto festival offers Italy – 2024

Director Milad Tangshir, Iranian-born, left the country and immigrated to Europe and succeeded in making a few films that passed under the radar. His novel film differs in that it is currently attracting a fair amount of attention.

Some of this interest may be due to the fact that the plot of his film follows a parallel line with that adopted by real-life Italian director Vittorio De Sica when he made his most celebrated film, “The Bicycle Thieves” in 1948. This is because the hero of this film’s bicycle, which is his only means of livelihood, was stolen from him during work. The father's bike was also stolen in the previous film. The similarity does not end there, because the two films follow the realistic style despite the different stories.

From “Anywhere, Anytime” (Vevo Films)

The hero of this film, Issa (Ibrahim Sambo), is a Senegalese immigrant to Italy without legal papers. He is fired from a short-lived job for this reason. His friend tries to support him by buying a bicycle that he uses to deliver food on demand. This is what leads us in the film to another similarity with the film “The Story of Solomon,” which we discussed on the ninth of last month. That was also about the days of the life of an African immigrant to France, which Boris Lubkino achieved with merit and success in capturing what makes the work have good rhythm and expressive performances. Two things the novel movie doesn't improve.

Issa works in the profession of delivering food in these crowded streets, and you might expect that some accident would happen to him during it because director Tengshir is good at monitoring movement, leaving room for anything to happen. The first thing that happens is emotional, as Issa also meets an African girl (Sukis Idmakyuta) as a first step towards a romantic life. The second matter is that his bike was stolen, which pushes Issa into an unexpected life predicament and intersects with his hopes that he will be able to overcome his financial and emotional problems.

This is a film that has good intentions, most of which reach us in the first minutes and some of which remain, but it needed an enriched atmosphere and a different, more intense treatment.

★ faint | ★★: middle| ★★★: Good | ★★★★ Very good | ★★★★★: Excellent