Leon Gast
Quando Eravamo Re

LA RECENSIONE

When We Were Kings.

There are movies that start almost in silence, gradually winning you over until they unleash moments of true excitement that you can no longer control. The viewing of this “When We Were Kings” from 1996, by the young director Leon Gast, is indeed one of those.
The

movie is actually a documentary that recounts the moments of preparation and anticipation for the boxing match between the great Mohammed Ali (known as Cassius Clay) and George Foreman, which took place on October 30, 1974 in Kinshasa, Zaire.

A truly legendary film/documentary that lets us relive, through interviews with the protagonists and rare archival footage, the escalation of the great Ali to the world title, with all the political and social ramifications that an event of this magnitude would bring to the African American movement.
A match destined to become a strongly symbolic act of redemption for a black man who started from the ghetto and rose to become the undisputed king of boxing, against the “hated” Foreman who, already rich and established, somewhat represented the more integrated side of conservative America. A film that becomes a frenzied and well-paced reconstruction of those days preceding the match, making us fully partake in the adrenaline experienced by the protagonists, in a feverish anticipation of the pivotal date of the match that becomes something obsessive and inevitable.
A film, therefore, that unfolds on two parallel tracks: on one side the actual match, with its undeniable sporting and competitive excitement, and on the other the media/socio/political event with the possible implications of the victory or defeat of one of the protagonists.

A film that simultaneously becomes an unyielding portrait of the charismatic and powerful figure of Cassius Clay, strong, boastful, confident, full of arrogance, and at times unbearable (remind you of anyone? ) but, in the end, also lucid and determined in understanding his role and what it would mean to win a world title of this caliber. A genuine Ali to love or hate without compromise, one of the last heroes capable of energizing the media worldwide on a match that will be remembered as “among the most legendary” in boxing history.

The director Spike Lee, commenting on the film, said: "Today's kids know nothing about these things, and yet they should understand what a rare thing it is to have heroes" (from the site: http://sonovivoenonhopiupaura.blogspot.com/2005/11/quando-eravamo-re-when-we-were-kings.html). And in this film, there are more than one hero: Ali at the forefront, Foreman himself, and, finally, the black heart of Africa seeking redemption that will be long in coming.

An intense and moving film to the point of tears, which I have watched and continue to rewatch at least once a year, and every time with the same vibrant feeling of being part of something greater. It makes you say "fortunately, amidst much ugliness, the History of Humanity has also given us such unique and unforgettable characters as this Ali, who have given a strong ethical imprint and a noble sense to a life lived always to the extreme chasing an ideal of Freedom".

Great film, one of the most exciting and “heartfelt” of the last 25 years.