American Bullfighter

Originally entitled The Bulls of Suburbia, Alex LeMay's oddly touching 2004 documentary is a tale of personal redemption that becomes unexpectedly profound. As a child, LeMay accompanied his father, an American literature professor teaching overseas, to bullfights in Spain, an early bonding experience that is reactivated in the filmmaker's mind decades later as he tries to recover from drug and alcohol addiction. Traveling to San Diego, LeMay enrolls in a bullfighting school taught by a former surfer, where he learns the fundamentals of the ritual sport, before transferring to Mexico to enter training rings with real cows and bulls. Accompanied by two other students—a low-key doctor and an excitable wannabe rock star—LeMay finds that he can get back on his feet (even after being knocked down by charging animals) and readies himself to step into a real ring back in Spain with his father looking on. But then the filmmaker-cum-bullfighter learns that his dad has terminal cancer and he struggles with the question of whether to proceed or forget the whole thing. An oddly handsome, sun-baked film, chronicling LeMay's intriguing quest to regain control of his life, American Bullfighter is a compelling documentary. DVD extras include an audio commentary by LeMay and deleted scenes. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)