Fantasia 2021 Review: “Operation Luchador”
By: Joseph Perry (Twitter - Uphill Both Ways Podcast)
What if the U.S. government had recruited a masked Mexican wrestler to help in the fight against Adolf Hitler and the Nazis during and immediately after World War II? For answers to questions like this and for more mind-ticklers such as “What would a musical movie starring the luchadors El Santo, Blue Demon, and The Golden Angel called Singing in the Ring been like?”, look to writer/director Alain Vézina’s incredible mockumentary comedy Operation Luchador (Opération Luchador, Canada, 2021; in French, with English subtitles).
Operation Luchador tells the fabled story of lucha libre star L’Ange Doré (Carlos Valderrama) — The Golden Angel — and how he was initially recruited by the United States’ Special Intelligence Services to thwart the rise of Nazi influence in the United States — embodied in part by Germany’s own professional wrestler, The Eagle of the Reich (Johnny North). So successful was The Golden Angel before and during WWII that he helped the SIS to locate Hitler after his successful escape to South America and his attempted rise to power there.
No spoilers here, because viewers should go in as fresh as possible to experience the hilarious absurdity of Vézina’s film. Suffice it to say that fans of the paranormal and science fiction are going to reap big rewards from viewing this movie, as are aficionados of lucha libre and American pro wrestling. Best of all, potential viewers needn’t be fans of any of these things to get a kick out of the craziness on display.
Vézina uses archival footage combined with his own newly shot material to bring Operation Luchador to cinematic life — and just when you think the lunacy can’t possibly reach a higher level, he indeed cranks things up. Importantly, Vézina deftly stays on the side of better taste by never making light of the true horrors suffered by the victims of the Third Reich.
The cast members all do a fine job, including Alain Essiembre in one of the weightier supporting roles as retired luchador Blue Tornado. Everyone plays things straight, which is important in making mockumentaries work.
An alternative history send-up with a nice share of pop culture Easter eggs, Operation Luchador is a fun cinematic slice of mirth and madness that bears repeated viewings. Genre-film fans in the mood for a comedic blast are in for a treat with this one.
Operation Luchador screens as part of Montreal’s Fantasia 2021, which runs online from August 5–25, 2021. For more information, visit https://fantasiafestival.com/en/.
Joseph Perry is one of the hosts of When It Was Cool’s exclusive Uphill Both Ways podcast (whenitwascool.com/up-hill-both-ways-podcast/) and Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast (decadesofhorror.com/category/classicera/). He also writes for the film websites Diabolique Magazine (diaboliquemagazine.com), Gruesome Magazine (gruesomemagazine.com), The Scariest Things (scariesthings.com), Ghastly Grinning (ghastlygrinning.com), and Horror Fuel (horrorfuel.com), and film magazines Phantom of the Movies’ VideoScope (videoscopemag.com) and Drive-In Asylum (etsy.com/shop/GroovyDoom).
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