TV tip of the day: The Wrestler

Today Wednesday runs on at 20:15 p.m. the absolutely brilliant film “The Wrestler” with Mickey Rourke in the lead role. A fascinating loser ballad in which Rourke creates an electrifying, humorous and deeply moving portrait and the story is told simply and brilliantly. “The Wrestler” is difficult to enjoy and not for the faint-hearted.

Mickey Rourke is more or less reenacting his own career here. Rourke, in the early 1998s, was a not unattractive actor who filled the role that Bruce Willis would later take on. But then Rourke's success went to his head. He played the diva, turned down roles in "The Untouchables", "Platoon", "The Silence of the Lambs", surrounded himself with a group of thugs, drank his money with the Hell's Angels and went through a drug hell with his wife Carré Otis until she left him in 38. At XNUMX, Rourke ventured into a second, short career as a boxer under the fight name “El Marielto”. The scars on his face still tell of this today. And he was sure that the film career would be over forever. “Basically,” he once said, “I was long dead.” The film is both a fascinating and depressing portrait of a broken man. The main character's willpower alone is so intoxicating that all other problems would be blown away if only this energy could be channeled in the right direction. As evidence of a failed existence in its probably final throes, a thought-provoking memorial. The character of Randy Robinson is a role model for everyone whose life has fallen apart at one point or another. His iron will to achieve what he sets out to do, regardless of whether this plan makes sense or not, is so fascinating that all other negative and sometimes depressing aspects fade into the background. The film is a shining example of human willpower in the face of even the most adverse circumstances.

Randy "The Ram" Robinson was one of the superstars of American wrestling in the 80s. But 20 years into its golden age, numerous fights and steroid abuse have left their mark. His bleached hair hardly covers the hearing aid, his wife has left him and he has not seen his daughter for years. Despite the physical exertion, he keeps getting into the ring and is cheered by loyal fans. But the shows in small school gyms are badly paid and he can barely pay the rental space for his shabby caravan, which is why he has to take a job in the supermarket. After a particularly bloody fight, he collapses from a heart attack and is transported to the hospital. There a doctor advises him to stop wrestling, as another ring could cost him his life. Randy seems to accept this with a heavy heart at first. He wants to rearrange his life. With the support of the stripper Cassidy, he gets back in touch with his daughter Stephanie, who, after initially being rejected, slowly lets him participate in her life again. He also begins to develop feelings for Cassidy, but she rejects him because the job makes relationships with customers impossible for her. His old life, consisting of wrestling events, parties and drugs, threatens to regain the upper hand. His need for fame and the attraction of the ring keep him going and so it comes as it has to come ...

TV tip of the day: The Wrestler