Wednesday, November 22, 2017

American Wrestler: The Wizard 2016


     This film is based on true events.  Ali Jahani is seventeen years old.  He was smuggled out of Iran to save his life after the Iran hostage crisis.  Ali is having a difficult time in high school because he’s not like the other students.  He wants to fit in but the other teens are putting a lot of pressure on him.  He is living with his uncle and even his uncle is giving him a hard time.  Ali decides to take up wrestling to somehow fit in.  His uncle turns around too because he is a former wrestler.
     I can understand why Ali is having such a difficult time blending in with other students.  It doesn’t help that America is very angry at Iran because of the hostage crisis.  There are many news items on television and in the newspapers about America should send everyone from Iran back home.  The wrestling does offer him an advantage.  3* (This movie was OK)

117 min, Drama directed by Alex Ranarivelo with William Fichtner, Ali Afshar, Lia Marie Johnson, Garbriel Basso, Jon Voight, Sasha Feldman, Iyad Hajjaj, Chase Mowen, Kevin G. Schmidt, Nicholas Guilak, Shannon Collis, Karina Andrews.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, 95% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 108 reviews, ThatMomentInTime 4* out of 5*.
Special Note:  Filmed in Petaluma, Tomales and Santa Rosa, California.  There is also a character named Principal Skinner in The Simpsons.  On November 4. 1979, Iranian students stormed the US Embassy in Tehran.  They took more than 60 Americans as hostages.  They were released 444 days later on January 21, 1981.  They were released just hours after President Ronald Regan took office.

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