Amazon Prime Video has premiered the trailer for the true story tale “Cassandro” starring Gael Garcia Bernal as the famed flamboyant wrestler dubbed the ‘Liberace of Lucha Libre’.
Set in the early 1980s, Bernal plays gay wrestler Saul Armendariz who lives in El Paso, Texas, and regularly crosses the border to Ciudad Juarez in Mexico to participate in lucha libre wrestling matches.
He wrestles as El Topo until he meets a new trainer, Sabrina, who suggests he should compete as an ‘exotico’, luchadors who perform in drag and camp it up.
This leads to his new identity and increasing success as ‘Cassandro’ who upends not just the macho wrestling world, but also his own life.
The film had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and has pulled in a 97% (7.6/10) on Rotten Tomatoes with raves for Bernal’s performance. Raul Castillo, Roberta Colindrez, Bad Bunny, Perla De La Rosa, JoaquÃn CosÃo, Robert Salas, and El Hijo Del Santo co-star.
Oscar and Emmy-winning director Roger Ross Williams directs the film from a script co-written by David Teague. “Cassandro” will score a limited release on September 15th followed by a Prime Video release on September 22nd.
