Tu Solo (1984) Poster

(1984)

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7/10
Neo-realist docudrama talks about young apprentices to achieve success as Toreros .
ma-cortes1 July 2023
An enjoyable and neo-realist picture in documentary style about bullfighting in Spain of the Eighties . The daily life of those who dream of working in the world of the bullfighting ring . A movie that follows the pupils of the School of Tauromachy in Madrid. And especially focusing on a young apprentice who eagerly wants to dedicate himself to bullfighting while his father opposes him with all his might, while the latter beats him and treats him badly. At the same time the movie dealing with Spanish bullfighting , it is called Corrida De Toros (literally "running of bulls") or la fiesta ("the festival"). The film has great interest for fans of bullfighting because being a summary of the typical and well built screenplay upon very young bullfighters who emerging from anonymity, seeking his opportunity, in ¨Becerradas¨ and ¨Capeas¨ or "clown-bullfighting¨ spectacles with El Chino Torero , to get a real fame and fortune. The rest of the film is bullfighting cuts that for those who do not like bulls , however, being some tedious .

The boys in this film, between eight and 16 years old, all of them give naive acting , they are real students of the Madrid Bullfighting School in those years, dedicating their lives to this peculiar Spanish art , and for some politically incorrect today , concerning the world of bullfighting . Students learn to understand and love with patience, with mistakes, with love . Revealing the human side of the bullfighter : his emotions, sensations, and sacrifices. They don't just seek money and fame, they don't boast before their friends , they don't have behind them that mother who folkloric cinema fostered to the point of boredom. They live the illusion of the bull with a magical sense of glory. Contemplating these young people who dedicate their love to the myth, to Manolete, Juan Belmonte, Sebastián Palomo Linares , Manuel Benitez el Cordobés , Paquirri, each one is known in more detail, and that contact with their customs or hobbies transforms them into real characters with a dramatic approach. This bullfighting genre was very popular in the 50s and 60s that includes films as Solos los dos (1968) , Las cicatrices (1967) , Nuevo en esta plaza (1966) , Aprendiendo a morir (1962), Chantaje a un torero (1963) and the various versions of Currito de la Cruz : 1925 silent rendition , 1936 , 1949 and 1965 , most of them starred by real bullfighters as Pepin Martin Vazquez , El Pireo , Rafael Albaicin , Manuel Carmona and Antonio García 'Maravilla'. But this ¨Tú solo¨ follows in the wake of ¨El momento de la verdad¨ (1965) by Francesco Rosi , a semi-documentary film , more than the style of the previous dramatic films. The motion picture was well written/directed by the prestigious cameraman Teo Escamilla.

The movie gives a nice description about the culture of Spain surrounding the old traditions of the Toreador , while learning from little boys , teens and youngsters . Showing the classic figure of the Matador , in which Toreros are really submitted to nerves during slaughter . As the ancient Toreo art-form is described with unflinching and fetching realism , it is the story of bullfighters against brave beasts . The film gives a real description about ¨Bullfighting¨ art , as the bull is released into the ring, where he is tested for ferocity by the matador and Banderilleros with the magenta and gold Capote ("Cape"). This is the first stage, the Tercio de Varas ("the lancing third"). The matador confronts the bull with the Capote, performing a series of passes and observing the behavior and quirks of the bull . Next, a picador enters the arena on horseback armed with a Vara (lance). In the next stage, the Tercio De Banderillas ("the third of Banderillas"), each of the three Banderilleros attempts to plant two Banderillas, sharp barbed sticks, into the bull's shoulders . In the final stage, the "the third of death" , the matador re-enters the ring alone with a small red cape, or Muleta, and a sword .
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Fascinating
Sorof19 April 2001
An amazing quasi-documentary with good performances from the young pre-teen and teenage actors. The nude bullfighting scene is fascinating without being exploitive, and it serves as an analogy for the vulnerability these young bullfighters have when in the ring with the bulls. Hard to find, but recommended.
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10/10
wow
marymorrissey5 July 2004
this movie instantly gets into my top 10 ever.

involving no gripping, so . . . parable like about life in general, well

the life of an artist, really. enthralling... you get a rich sense of

bullfighting as a dance with death. here is a lot of drama and

sweetness and humor and a good immersion into this culture. I'd

imagine, as could possibly be brought off in this amount of time.

and a big nude bullfighting sequence (which by way of explanation

of itself explains what was going on in the not deserving to be

mentioned here movie with javier bardem in which he fights nude,

by the way, not deserving mention here but the first couple of

scenes are ok) didn't hurt at all. and the fact that the only women in

the film were the boys mamas. !

watching this you're always aware that the story . . . had to be

adaptable on the fly cause any of the actors could have been

ripped to shreds at any point necessitating a rewrite! anyway the

sense of real danger is really intense in this movie.

it's thanks to the nude scenes that we're able to see this film

distributed by "award films" which pretty much is a nudie arty gay

releaser. I never imagined anything so amazing from them now

must think about checking out some of their other titles

anyway it's really an amazing life of an artist . it's you and "black

leg" all alone where it counts!
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Good Bull Hunting
mxtotten13 July 2001
I myself do agree with the other IMDB user's comments on this semi-docudrama. I can also recommend this film for all to see. Too bad it was shot for what seems to be 16mm and then perhaps shown on TV, the video version I have from Award Films.com here in the U.S, which by the way is still availible at their on-line store, is slightly fuzzy and the colors tend to be faded and out of sync sometimes. But all in all a fascinating look and the art of Bull Fighting. It was funny to see a dated segment where a TV in the parents home of one of the students show a speech in progress by Ronald Regan!
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