I was pleased to have recently met Venezuelan director and novelist Jonathan Jakubowicz at a function in Los Angeles. I also met his wife, Claudine, who produces her Jonathan's projects. I spoke to Claudine in some depth and she graciously provided me with advice on how I might continue to build my "What's Up, Gringo?!" to the level of production I believe the script and vision merit. The projects she's created with Jonathan are bigger than anything I've worked on thus far in terms of budgets and the Hollywood A-listers they've worked with.
Afterwards, I spoke with Jonathan. I didn't know who he was nor his body of work before that day, but at this function, his accomplishments as a director and writer were being publicly discussed and impressed me, so I thought I would subsequently approach him to converse. The conversation was brief but I came away with an overall positive feeling, something I have not felt about all the directors I have met in Los Angeles in the year and a few months I've lived here, so I concluded by telling him I would check out his works. And I'm glad I did! They've entertained me and stimulated thought. Here are some of those thoughts below.
Hands of Stone (2016)
I began with Hands of Stone, the movie that had the most recognizable star Jakubowicz has collaborated with and whose performances I often enjoy, Robert De Niro. The movie tells the real life story of Roberto Durán, widely considered the greatest lightweight boxer of all time and who was the first lightweight to become a middleweight world champion when he returned to boxing later in his career and life. Durán is brilliantly interpreted by Edgar Ramirez who brought to life this dynamic character that's portrayed to be an aggressive, passionate, life-of-the-party showman on the one hand, but on the other, an extremely humble patriot and servant to his people who's fought tooth and nail for everything he has, never forgetting his impoverished upbringing in Panama.
This difficult upbringing kind of allegorically portrays the some of the greater misdoings of America's involvement in Panama and Latin America in the second half of the 20th century, as Durán is shown to have grown up by a poor, young mother who struggles to provide for him and his younger siblings after Durán's father, an American soldier stationed at the one of the Canal's American forts in the country, completely abandones the family upon completing his military mission. From a young age, Durán is forced to get tough to protect and provide for his family. He also grows up harboring a strong resentment towards America and "the Gringos."
When Durán's boxing talent catches the eye of then retired trainer Ray Arcel (De Niro), Arcel taps into this resentment and instills Durán with a greater motivation to fight and discipline himself. He reframes Durán's and Panama's relationship with the American occupation there, rejecting Durán's notion that Panama is an impoverished victim being jailed by the Americans (who live under better conditions in their guarded fort). Instead, he imbues Durán with nationalistic pride and the belief that the Americans are actually the prisoners of Panama, forced to live behind the walls of their fort which they must constantly protect with rifles. The scene in which this transformation takes place occurs amidst training, when Arcel rides his mobile scooter alongside the jogging Durán and the two take a rest in front of the fort's gates. (By the way, the set of this scene is impressive and the colors and cinematography as a whole of the Panama scenes really accentuate the tropical beauty.) Durán initially dismisses the passionate old trainer's remarks of psychology and mindset. At his core, Durán still probably identifies Arcel as one of the Gringos he shouldn't trust. This changes a bit when Arcel gets into a spat with the fort guard and in a comical moment, the senior tells him off, "I'm from Harlem, USA. You know where that is?!" Durán then listens and absorbs a great line from Arcel regarding reframing conflicts in life that seem insurmountable:
A few scenes later, this beautiful line is echoed by Durán himself during the movie's love story and Durán's efforts to court the sophisticated and well-off young lady, Felicidad Iglesias (Ana de Armas). These efforts seem fruitless at first. Despite the fact that she's intrigued by Durán's celebrity and the respect his boxing career has already earned him up to that point within Panama (though he still is yet to earn a shot to become world champ), Iglesias believes that Roberto is too uneducated, too "from the gutter" as Scarface might put it. She tells him, "Somos de mundos muy diferentes" (We're from very different worlds), to which Roberto replies with Arcel's line, undressing her mentally and peeling away her preconceptions... "It's all in the head."
The rest of the movie features more interesting subplots around Durán and his rise to become world champion; followed by his fall and his decision to walk away from fighting challenger Sugar Ray Leonard (played exceptionally by singer Usher, a spitting image of Sugar Ray); and his resurgence as a world champ at a new weight class as he fights to win back his Felicidad (pun intended) and the pride of Panama. We also gain significant perspective into Arcel's conflicts of balancing career and family as he seeks to realize his ambitions within boxing while managing the organized crime forces that seek to manipulate him to consolidate power and profits within the industry. The boxing industry itself takes a big beating in the movie for this reason, and we really feel for Durán when big business powers in Panama attempt to assert control over him, forcing him to fight when he seeks to relax and prioritize family. Hands of Stone has plenty to offer in terms of plot and its carried by exceptional acting and beautiful cinematography and sets.
Secuestro Express (2004)
Resistance (2020)
"Las aventuras de Juan Planchard" (2016) and "La venganza de Juan Planchard" (2020)
In summation, there is a lot to enjoy in Jakubowicz's body of work. His art is far from simple escapism and one should be prepared for deeper messaging when consuming his art, though I don't find those messages to be too heavy such as to detract from the objectively entertaining themes in his stories such as love, art, heroism, etc. I will be on the lookout for more of what this artist produces.
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