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The Matador (2008)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 6.7/10
Reviews Counted: 14
Fresh: 11 | Rotten: 3

No consensus yet.

Average Rating: 6.7/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 1

No consensus yet.

audience

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Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 196

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Movie Info

Filmmakers Nina Gilden Seavey and Stephen Higgins follow David Fandila on a three-year trek through Spain and Latin America as the ambitious matador attempts to establish himself as the world's top-ranked bullfighter in the world. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 14 min.

Documentary, Special Interest

Directed By: Stephen Higgins , Nina Gilden Seavey

In Theaters: Mar 10, 2008 Wide

On DVD: Feb 17, 2009

City Lights Pictures

The Matador Trailer & Photos

More Photos (12)

Cast

Critic Reviews for The Matador

All Critics (14) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (11) | Rotten (3)

[The filmmakers] capture the paradox of beauty and cruelty that charges their entire film. The Matador is rightly exciting -- and unsettling.

November 26, 2008 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times

| Comment

Kevin Thomas

Los Angeles Times

Top Critic

Mostly The Matador romanticizes a brutal tradition that has no place in the 21st century.

October 31, 2008 Full Review Source: New York Post

| Comment

V.A. Musetto

New York Post

Top Critic

Stripping away centuries of civilization, The Matador confronts something primal in human nature, daring us to do the same.

October 31, 2008 Comment

Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Top Critic

The Matador reserves judgment while raising the core issue concerning this traditional ritual: deep, poetic cultural expression or glorified animal cruelty?

October 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Village Voice

| Comment

Elena Oumano

Village Voice

Top Critic

PETA activists will be apoplectic, but the pic is geared to more culturally open-minded viewers unacquainted with the subtleties of the corrida, revealing that it's a primitive though complex sport, and that Fandila is an athlete with a dancer's skills.

September 2, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety

| Comment (1)

Robert Koehler

Variety

Top Critic

The Matador reserves judgment while raising the core issue concerning this traditional ritual: deep, poetic cultural expression or glorified animal cruelty?

November 26, 2008 Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly

| Comment

Elena Oumano

L.A. Weekly

More observational than overtly critical, The Matador reveals the ways that violence defines a conventional, familiar, and increasingly scrutinized masculinity.

November 14, 2008 Full Review Source: PopMatters

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Cynthia Fuchs

PopMatters

The film does a fine job constructing a timeless piece of work with a sharp-bladed cleaver and steady hand.

October 31, 2008 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine

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Matthew Nestel

Boxoffice Magazine

One of the more comprehensive looks at bullfighting we've seen in this country.

October 30, 2008 Full Review Source: ComingSoon.net

| Comment

Edward Douglas

ComingSoon.net

Stunningly photographed in high-definition, The Matador evokes the art of a well-choreographed dance in its portrait of a brutal pseudo-sport.

October 30, 2008 Full Review Source: Film Journal International

| Comment

Harvey S. Karten

Film Journal International

The Matador suffers from a very predictable, almost staged quality when capturing Fandila's unsequined life outside the ring.

October 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Time Out New York

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Drew Toal

Time Out New York

Issues of class don't matter to the filmmakers, who pride above all else Fandila's justifications for what he does, romanticizing the possibility of his dying while giving the bulls he dances with the shaft.

October 26, 2008 Full Review Source: Slant Magazine

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Ed Gonzalez

Slant Magazine

. For all of its inherent gore and breathtaking surprises, "The Matador" is an essential window on the personality of an athlete working in an incredibly dangerous sport.

October 18, 2008 Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com

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Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

fabulous

March 17, 2008 Full Review Source: Jaman

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Jay Antani

Jaman

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Matador

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I was about to change the channel when this first came on Sundance ~ glad I didn't. I was glued to this documentary from beginning to end...

April 15, 2011

Matthew Prather

Don't get fooled by those people who never watched this movie. It's beautifully done - from storyline, visual, cinematography, editing, music score to directing. This movie does NOT support bullfight. It keeps an open-minded attitude that allows voice from both sides to be heard. After all, it's more about a young

November 8, 2008