Virtual Screening
PRESENTED WITH
The Contenders
Official selection
Filmfest Bremen 2021
Director
Alain Vézina
Writer
Alain Vézina
Cast
Lawrence Brown, Alain Essiembre, Caroline Gauthier, Patrice Joly, Johnny North, Rodrigo Olguin Salas, Michel T. Prévost, Marie-Ève Trudel, Carlos Valderrama, Martin Vallée
Producer
Richard Duquette, Michel T. Prévost, Alain Vézina
Cinematographer
Richard Duquette
Composer
Réjean Doyon
Editor
Marc Plana
contact
Merlin Films
The Second World War still holds so many mysteries. You think you know everything about WWII? Well, this world war still holds many surprises for you. Did you know that Mexico, in the 1940s, was the home of the Eagle of the Reich, a famous fascist masked wrestler and follower of Nazi teachings? That the American intelligence service had recruited a Mexican masked wrestler, The Golden Angel, to infiltrate the ranks of the Führer to curb his Machiavellian plans. Thanks to OPÉRATION LUCHADOR, you will learn all about Hitler’s horrible machinations, including the bombing of the Gatún Dam to block the Suez Canal, the infamous cosmic mirror known as the Sun Cannon, intended to literally fry the United States of America, the creation of a squadron of trained dogs converted into kamikaze pilots; and the existence of a National Socialist hideout protected by a certain Nazi Yeti in Patagonia. You will discover what may have happened in the Führer's bunker on 30 April 1945, and more importantly, what may have happened to Hitler's brain after his supposed suicide.
This is all just a joyous delirium, as you may have guessed by now. The mockumentary is a practice first launched on April 1, 1957 by the BBC, the English broadcaster aired a “documentary” on a certain "spaghetti tree", with the avowed aim of encouraging viewers to remain cautious in their apprehension of the facts and images presented on the small screen and to exercise their own critical faculties toward facts. Today, the genre is a recognised and frequently used strategy. OPÉRATION LUCHADOR, a film that not only embraces the mocumentary genre wholeheartedly, but also mixes archival footage, photographic tricks and extracts from vintage B-movies to create a reflection on our relationship with cinema and documentary. In 2019, the festival presented TERREUR AU CAMPUS, a short that was intended to be the pilot for a series and already featured the Mexican wrestler L’Ange Doré (The Golden Angel). Not only is L’Ange Doré back, but he's confronting the dark designs of the Third Reich. In addition to teaching film at the Cégep de Saint-Jérôme, Alain Vézina is known to Quebec cinephiles for his feature film LE SCAPHANDRIER (2015) and has directed over half a dozen documentaries, including LES SOEURS DE NAGASAKI (2018), LA CAGE: L'HISTOIRE DE LA CORRIVEAU (2016), SOMBRÉ DANS L'OUBLI: L'HISTOIRE DE L'EMPRESS OF IRELAND (2013) and LA DERNIÈRE MISSION: L'HISTOIRE DU U-190 (2007) So prepare to witness a genre film and documentary enthusiast make a genre mockumentary, just for the fun of it! – Raquel Tremblay
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