The Swap (2017)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The exchange |
| Original title | The Trade |
| Country of production | United States / Japan |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2017 |
| length | 60 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Matthew T. Burns |
| script | Matthew T. Burns |
| production | Matthew T. Burns |
| music | Mimi Page |
| camera | Paul Leeming |
| cut | Matthew T. Burns |
| occupation | |
| |
The Exchange (Original Title: The Trade ) is an American-Japanese documentary with fantastic elements by Matthew T. Burns from 2017. It is about his wrestling career under the pseudonym "Nick Mondo".
action
The film tells the story of the director as wrestler Nick Mondo, who made a name for himself as an extreme wrestler, especially in the hardcore wrestling promotion Combat Zone Wrestling . Some of his dangerous and life-threatening stunts can be seen in the documentation. In some shots he falls several meters through tables draped with barbed wire and fluorescent tubes, is attacked with a grass trimmer and strangled with barbed wire.
The film begins with Nick Mondo's influences, which he attributes to wrestler Matthew Prince, better known as "Wifebeater," who anticipated some of Nick Mondo's dangerous actions. Then films from his childhood and adolescence are shown, which show him and his friends doing daring stunts that are reminiscent of the television series Jackass . The friends can also be seen playing backyard wrestling.
A match with wifebeater follows, in which the two meet in a ring of fluorescent tubes. The very bloody match ends with the victory of Nick Mondo, who from then on becomes the star of the promotion and has many imitators. Including Rory Gulak, who emulated him after his career as "Little Mondo".
Then Nick Mondo is in Japan, where he seeks distance from his fictional character. In the big city his identity is lost and he talks about the loneliness he feels there. But also the need to support its destructive side. But he cannot completely run away from his past. There, too, he receives videos from Little Mondo. To redeem this he makes a momentous decision.
He digs up his alter ego again and doses it with blood. This is how he comes to life again. He returns to the ring at the Pay-Per-View Cage of Death XV on December 14, 2013. He won the match when he knocked Matt Tremont off the cage. So he "saved" Little Mondo, who then ended his career.
At the end you see Nick Mondo lying drowned on the coast.
background
In fact, some of the facts presented in the documentation are incorrect. So "Little Mondo" is still active as a wrestler, but does without deathmatches. At the time Mondo intervened, he was wrestling not as Little Mondo, but as "Lucky 13". Nick Mondo also did not hide in Japan, but completed his art studies there. This documentary mixes facts, staged passages and fantastic elements, such as the "awakening" of the character.
The film was released in the United States on October 17, 2017. The unedited original version was later published on Amazon Prime Video under the title The Swap .
Reviews
Alexander Bedranowsky, active as Thumbtack Jack himself in the wrestling scene, described the film in his review for Spotfight as an "incomparable wrestling film". He fascinates “in a depressing way with the successful visualization of a tragic inner struggle. An absolute must-see for every wrestling fan - especially for those who find hardcore and death match wrestling off-putting. "
Web links
- The exchange in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official presence on Facebook
Individual evidence
- ^ Rory Gulak "Wrestlers Database" CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved December 26, 2018 .
- ↑ PerkkiXWWE: THE TRADE - A unique, artistic wrestling film! In: Spotfight. Accessed on December 26, 2018 (German).
- ↑ THE TRADE - A one of a kind, artistic wrestling film! | Spotfight - Part 2. In: Spotfight. Accessed on December 26, 2018 (German).