BULLFIGHTER, Gilmartin Film, 2000.
Dir. Rune Bendixen. Perf. Michelle Forbes, Olivier Martinez, Michael Parks.
Review by Samara Nichols

Olivier Martinez stars in Bullfighter as Jack, a French drifter down Mexico way who dreams of becoming, well, a bullfighter. After his girlfriend inadvertently falls victim to a spooked bull, Jack becomes the target of a vicious manhunt led by her crime boss father (Michael Parks). Jack’s friend Mary (Michelle Forbes) joins him on the run and finds herself to be the expectant mother of a new Messiah in this tale of religious and spiritual (not to mention narrative) madness.

Written and directed by Rune Bendixen, Bullfighter illustrates Bendixen’s experience as a TV director and little more as the film drags through its complicated and farcical storyline with little real visual appeal or even passable acting to hold it together. With each changing scene we get tedious gimmicky transitional flashes and sound design that reflect the director’s desire for an overly modern imitation “Western.” For some reason, I have to admit I expected this film to pertain to bullfighting. Wrong. I expected it to be a Western. Wrong again. It’s a soppy, unbelievable religious tale that sinks itself into impiety with exaggerated supernatural fluff. All of this conducted in setting where the closest we really come to the Western genre are a few whiskey shots and the odd ten-gallon hat.

Bullfighter’s disjointed and messy plot is difficult to follow, and it is unclear whether we are watching a revenge chase or daydreaming about angels and prophesies as characters are mysteriously healed by dreams and led to murder for reasons never accounted for. Not only do these mystical touches come across as silly and irrelevant, but they are surely partly responsible for giving otherwise promising performers an obviously unserviceable script. By the way, Willem Dafoe graces the front cover of this one but don’t be fooled: his character is as short-lived as it is far-fetched.

Bullfighter’s characters are one-dimensional—we care not whether they are killed, go crazy, or disappear altogether—and while the film has some mildly compelling camera work, this goes no way to atoning for how boring and outlandish it all is. A snappy title isn’t the only thing wasted by this one. Avoid.