Sale temps pour les pêcheurs

First off, I take issue with the description of the film, where it states- "Jacob van Oppen, the former strongest man on earth, and his manager Orsini, who calls himself "the Prince", make a good living by traveling around small South American towns and organizing wrestling exhibitions." Wrong. They do not make a good living. They are living a precarious existence. Jacob, a shadow of his former self and Orsini, a con-man who does not even have the 'mil dolares' to back up and finance his bets. They are leading a terrible life, are both alcoholics, and both know it. Orsini is a self-described Italian Prince, but no one dare ask what he is doing, taking seedy bus trips, promoting a washed-up wrestler, all over South and Central America.

In any case, it's an excellent film. Jacob has become brain damaged from his years of wrestling and self abuse, he has reverted back to the mental state of a child. Not only that, he is bi-polar or has other mental issues which he takes medication for. As if that were not sad enough, Jacob also has some serious health issues. Although it has many comedic moments, it is nonetheless a sad film. It takes place in a fictional, back-water, town in Uruguay, in 1962. The acting and cinematography are all top notch. Jacob is somewhat devastated when he finds out the Orsini has been "fixing matches for him" and hand-picking opponents that insure Jacob wins the matches every time. The ending is brilliant and everything leads up to the final match at the end, where due to events in the town of Santa maria, Jacob must face a very tough opponent.

This was an excellent and outstanding film about two seemingly washed-up and forgotten human beings. The acting is low-key, but great. A Bad Day To Go Fishing is the story of a burnt out, punch-drunk, former World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion and his equally washed-up promoter slash manager, taking on any and all opponents in challenge matches in 27 South American cities. Unknown to the brain damaged ex-champion, his manager who calls himself,Prince, has been paying off all his opponents to lose to him. Without giving away the ending, the two losers end up in an obscure South American town, where the younger, stronger, and meaner opponent refuses to lose the fight. This film is a character study of lost souls just trying to get through life day by day, by any means possible. And yet, down deep in the human spirit, sometimes,given the right situation,human beings can recapture the glory of their youth, even if it is for a brief moment in time.

If you like Hemmingway or Mark Twain, you'll love this movie. This is the story of a washed-out champ (with Hemmingway it is usually a bullfighter, here it is a wrestler) who's way past his prime and just doesn't know when to quit. But he is not so over the hill that he can't be used by someone -- in this case a con man calling himself Prince Orsini. Orsini takes the pathetic (think washing in public fountains and wailing loudly in churches) ex-athlete on a tour of South America. They go from town to town where Orsini offers a $1,000 reward to anyone who could last 3 minutes in the ring with the champ. Then he normally bribes the local strongman to accept the challenge and throw the fight (and of course charges everyone in town for admittance).

But in the town of Santa Maria, the duo lucks out: the local strongman turns out to be not only very strong, but also very honest: he won't accept a bribe. Orsini, afraid of losing both the reward money and his champ to boot, leaves no stone unturned in an attempt to get out of the fight. I won't give away the ending, but it very well done -- one of the best, most satisfying endings in any movie I've ever seen. In all, this is a masterpiece with many comedy moments and an excellent character development. You don't have to be a wrestling fan to enjoy (I'm not), and you won't be able to help reflecting on the fact that all of us will one day be past our prime.

I had a feeling of connection with this film to "On the Waterfront" with Marlin Brando, content-wise. This film, "Bad Day to Go Fishing" is brilliantly cast and the locales are colorfully executed. Totally enjoyed this film. It has no pretense and is gritty and wonderful, with a striking dose of pathos...transports you to someplace possibly existent, yet strangely off the beaten trail. Acting and casting are superb.

On the surface, it's a story about a friendship which you suspect is a condition of exploitation, but as it plays out, you become aware it's about true friendship and a condition of brotherhood between a manager and his aging athlete. It's also about the indomitable spirit of a contender no matter how far he's fallen from grace. It's about life, love, despair, con men, and the human spirit. Don't miss this film ;)

Jacob used to be the strongest man on Earth. Now he and his manager Orsini travel South America, showing him and his feats off, and betting $1000 that no one can last 3 minutes in the ring against him. But one town proves troublesome for their endeavors; the man they hire to lose is arrested and won't be able to fight, and a new challenger surfaces. Since they don't have the money they've been promising, how will they get out of this situation? The acting is quite good. This is about getting by by any means necessary(not only for our two leads, several others are desperate as well, and the setting fits this perfectly) and the dangers of wrestling(the former champion is clearly brain-damaged - to the point where he has the mind of a child - and he has damaging addictions, such as drinking, not to mention the so-called "cycle" he goes through, wherein he sometimes gets extremely volatile). There is humor in this(I think it might be typically Spanish... I couldn't detail it more than that, it has some "stupid people" material). The film moves gradually towards the inevitable climax, a showdown. There is a bit of brutal violence, sexuality and disturbing content in this. I recommend this to fans of drama. 7/10