Victor Young Perez
| Victor "Young" Perez | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Jacques Ouaniche |
| Produced by | Neil Kafsky |
| Starring |
Brahim Asloum Isabella Orsini Bruce Payne |
| Cinematography | Pierre-Yves Bastard |
| Edited by | Emmanuelle Mimran |
Production company |
France 3 Cinema Mazel Productions Noe Productions |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Victor "Young" Perez is a 2013 French biographical film.[1] film directed by Jacques Ouaniche, written by Jacques Ouaniche and Yoni Darmon.[2]
Plot
Victor "Young" Perez tells the astonishing, harrowing and poignant story of a Tunisian Jewish boxer, who became the World Flyweight Champion in 1931 and 1932. Perez started training as a boxer at age 14 along with his older brother Benjamin "Kid" Perez Perez and rose to great fame thanks to the help and guidance of Leon Bellier. Moreover, he had a love affair with French-Italian actress Mireille Balin. The 5'1", 110-pound Perez won the International Boxing Union's version of the World Flyweight crown by a 2nd-round knockout of US-American champion Frankie Genaro, subsequently becoming the youngest world champion in boxing history! Perez got arrested in Paris on September 21, 1943 and was detained in the Drancy internment camp France, before being transported to Auschwitz where he was assigned to the Monowitz to serve as a slave laborer. Victor Perez arrived at Auschwitz on October 10, 1943, as part of "Transport 60" a group of 1,000. He was held in AuschwitzIII/Monowitz. Whilst there he was forced to fight in boxing matches for the amusement of the SS command. By 1945 Victor had survived 140 bouts in 15 months. Perez was one of the prisoners on the death march that left the camp on January 18, 1945.[3]
Cast
- Brahim Asloum as Young Perez
- Isabella Orsini as Mireille Balin
- Bruce Payne as Rudolf Hess
- Steve Suissa as Benjamin Perez
- Denis Sandler as German boxing promoter
- Alaa Safi as Battling Mokhtar
- Olivier Sa as Frankie Genaro
- Sava Dragunchev as presenter
Release and reception
The film was released in France on 20 November 2013.[4] According to film critic Virgil Dumez, 'despite obvious stylistic blunders, "Victor Young Perez" takes the viewer through the evocative power of its history and therefore wins by KO after an unequal battle, but pretty exciting'.[5]
Awards and Honors
- 2013
- São Paulo International Film Festival.
- Nominated 'Best Feature Film' Category
- 2014
- Santa Barbara International Film Festival
- Nominated 'Best International Feature' Category
References
- ↑ Macnab, Geoffrey (15 May 2013). "Picture Tree grows slate". Screen Daily. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
- ↑ "Victor Young Perez". unifrance.org. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2658428/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl
- ↑ http://www.myfrenchfilmfestival.com/en/movie?movie=36228
- ↑ Dumez, Virgil. "VICTOR YOUNG PEREZ - THE MOVIE REVIEW". avoir-alire.com. Retrieved 20 November 2013.