Cornered: A Life Caught in the Ring

A filmmaker gets the idea that it would be great to see a guy who done wrong dragged around the country confessing his guilt to all and sundry, so that he, the filmmaker, can declare the sins expiated and the sinner freed of his burden. Rather than an exploration of the complexities of morality or what-have-you, the themes and characters are arranged into a neat structure that conforms to a preset notion of a ritualised path for the audience to traverse. Yet there are no likeable characters.

It's rare that you get a documentary that tells a story which personally involves the director not only as a direct observer but also an on screen motivator for the film's progression. Or I suppose it's rare to get one that isn't as obtuse as Michael Moore. Anyhow, this documentary is one to see for sure. It's not heavy handed but rather open and honest about it's intentions, biases and even it's own naivety.

Extremely manipulative, but more of events than as a film, or at least not shy about it. Former boxing agent Drath inserts himself into the story and shepherds Resto around on a grotesque guilt tour, unearthing some long-buried, stomach-turning truths in what was already perhaps the most disgraceful episode in the history of boxing (which is, of course, saying a lot). Contains some of the most amazing, or amazingly galling, sequences I've ever seen in a documentary. I was galled, I tells ya!