Champion

Early on in Chamion, a documentary on the hard-knock life and eventual fruitful career as character actor Danny Trejo (with now over 100 films to his name), the writer/interviewer Cecily Gambrell is asked by Trejo how this is going to go, and she responds that it should just be "like on Oprah." At that moment I sort of cringed, and it was something that would permeate throughout the rest of the film. It goes without saying that the turbulent and sort of inspiring story of Trejo's life from urban squalor to cult movie star status is impressive on its own, and to hear Trejo talk about it in any form is interesting. But the director and interviewer/writer of the film almost go out of their way to make it filmed in an dissatisfying way, which is troubling. At times, with the fade-to-white transitions (which are used quite often), the title cards explaining this or that about Trejo's early years into prison-life, and the shoddy camera-work (frankly I think my near-blind mother could shoot better than this), make it a little unpleasant as a form of storytelling.

Of course, I'm not expecting this to be an Errol Morris or Al Maysles film, but there just seems to be some lack of drive in how the director moves Trejo's story along, and the questions only probe so far enough so that Trejo goes on with his stories simply enough and without too much pretense (the stories involving Bunker are, in fact, some of the best parts, or at least least contrived, in the film). Which is fine, but there seems to be even more under the surface in Trejo's long and bumpy road from juvenile delinquent, habitual drug-user, thief, inmate, and eventual rehabilitated and strong-as-hell actor, than is really checked out on, and it's a little pathetic to see the same short clips from *Spy Kids* shown when his fellow colleagues like Buscemi and Robert Rodriguez talk about his work as a bad-ass in films like Con Air and Desperado (sure it's probably a rights issue, but still, it's such a lame clip to show, even if he is technically playing Machete).

In short, I think that compared to this, a man like Trejo would probably have an awesome time on Oprah's show- maybe not jumping on the couch, but who knows? It almost seems like Rodriguez himself- a second cousin of Trejo- should've made this documentary, as opposed to Eckhart, who's never done a documentary, which shows. This all said, the criticism I had though is really only of the style of camera and editing and the questions given on screen; Trejo himself is consistently watchable and engaging, and its for him alone, if you're a fan (and who isn't after seeing the Machete trailer during Grindhouse), that it's worth checking out.

Danny Trejo used drugs for the first time at 8 years old. Spent a number of years in prison for crimes including assault and armed robbery. Probably one of the toughest, meanest looking men you'll ever see.

Since then, Danny has helped countless people as a drug counselor and has stared in scores of movies. He has one of the best attitudes on life a person can have.

Danny Trejo is an incredible example of how one can turn their life around and make the world a better place. I saw the film at the Phoenix Film Festival and had the pleasure of a Q and A session with Danny and the director. Later, I ran into Danny at the festival, got to shake his hand, and had a few seconds of conversation with him.

Champion is a Great motivational film for anyone, trouble past or otherwise. Danny is a man that loves life, and lives to help people.

Don't miss this film.

Don't get me wrong. I respect Danny Trejo more than with the rest of the world along with the girl who interviewed him, however not only did this film physically damage my eyes (though don't get me wrong; I love Mr. Trejo's physique as much as any human should), but the obscure cutaways to people who are strikingly NOT Danny Trejo nearly put me in tears.

Additionally, the editor often switched the movie from colour to black and white. I felt this was a terrible decision, on account of black and white film being incapable of capturing Trejo's full beauty.

I do give credit to Trejo himself who knows how to hold the screen. He truly draws the viewer in--his expressions and phrases and tales of woe captivated me in ways I'd never thought imaginable. Storytelling has never been more fun, and I encourage Mr. Trejo to provide his services to young preschool children.

As far as the film-making goes, the documentarians clearly had little interest in Trejo. First and foremost, the interviewer sounded more bored than I was. Secondly, the movie was sent to me WITHOUT a proper birthdate for Danny Trejo. This date is incredibly important to people all over the world. Every November 11th, people everywhere have a moment of silence to remember and reflect on the tougher moments in Trejo's life. This should NOT have been left out.

Last and the polar opposite of least (aka "most") importantly, I expected at least ONE shower scene. Seriously. WTF. Just one. I mean, c'mon--I took my kids to see THIS? Well, I guess it's back to photoshopping for me.

All in all, Trejo's as awesome as ever but this movie fails to live up to the hype created by my friends and I.

This is a great documentary about one of today's more recognizable character actors, Danny Trejo. If you don't know his background, this is definitely a film you should see. From his earliest days, trouble always seemed to find Danny. The fact that the man is still alive, much less succeeding so well, is a testament to the endurance of the human spirit. With interviews from Dennis Hopper, Val Kilmer, Robert Rodriguez, Steve Buscemi, and many more of Danny's co-stars and directors. I saw this at the 2005 Phoenix Film Festival and thought that it was the best thing there. I don't know if this has been picked up or not, but if you can find it anywhere, it's worth a look for sure.

I saw this as part of the Hollywood Film Festival. Unfamiliar with Danny Trejo's work I was totally captivated by the story of his life. From a troubled background with disinterested parents, Danny's life looked bleak. This is the story of Danny's descent into drugs, armed robbery, gangs, alcoholism, incarceration, despair and ultimate redemption as a drugs counsellor and tough-guy actor. As this was a special screening there was a Q&A with Danny and Director Joe Eckardt where they explained that this movie came from an interview with Danny on Latino actors that was supposed to be 3 minutes long, but Danny was so interesting they decided to tell his life story in a stand alone documentary. Danny's story isn't all tears - there's a lot of laughter too and some genuinely moving moments. The editing is erratic and the interviewer vapid but I really hope this gets distribution (and I hope the distributor invests in re-editing) as this story needs a wider audience.