The documentary GORED opens with footage of aging bullfighter Antonio Barrera’s final performance as a bullfighter on December 12, 2012 in Mexico. Director Ido Mizrahy shows Barrera kneeling as a half-ton bull charges toward him. The footage pauses and we turn to finding out who Barrera is and the extraordinary career that had brought him to these final moments.
Barrera is the most-gored bullfighter in history — in his career, he was gored 23 times in the bullring. Barrera was trained by his father from an early age to become a bullfighter, and he started fighting bulls at eight years old. His ability to return from serious injury is nothing short of remarkable. Many bullfighters never survive after being gored just one time — either because they are killed or because they quit bullfighting. While not the most skilled bullfighter, Barrera’s sheer tenacity to continue bullfighting despite a career full of major injuries is either admirable or foolish, depending on how you look at it. Ironically, the very thing that made him notable (being gored) made him something of a failure in the sport because in many instances he was unable to finish the fight or had to cancel fights while he recovered from injury. It’s like a baseball player holding the record for the most errors, except every time a baseball player makes an error he doesn’t risk life and limb.
The documentary is not for the faint of heart. It features footage of many times that Barrera was gored during a bullfight, including times he was nearly killed and patched himself up enough to finish the bullfight. Naturally, being a documentary about bullfighting there are also many scenes of animal cruelty. However, the most harrowing segments of the documentary are the interviews with Barrera’s wife, Maider Sanchez Martin, who has had to put up with a lifetime of worrying for her husband’s wife. In fact, she even believes her husband loves bullfighting more than life itself. At one point she remarks with sadness, “The bull has stolen his heart, and when you give away your heart you’ve given away everything.”
One of the best aspects of GORED is how it highlights the athleticism of bullfighting. Even a card-carrying member of PETA will find it hard to deny that there is something beautiful about the way a bullfighter “dances” with his adversary (even if they shut it off once the stabbing starts). Barrera is not an individual of much finesse, but the scenes of him bullfighting are heart-racing — especially since you know at some point the bull is going to get him.
At 76 minutes, GORED is a bit short on substance, especially when delving into the psychology of why Barerra seemingly has a death wish. The documentary touches upon how Barerra’s father passed his passion for bullfighting to his son, but it takes a special type of man to face death so many times and still return while knowing each time could be his last. What fuels him? What is he afraid of? What does he think of his legacy? These are questions that are barely touched upon, yet are so key to what is intriguing about Barerra. As a result, while GORED is endlessly engaging, it appears to be a documentary that isn’t quite finished.
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