“Hands of Stone”, the film inspired by the life of the legendary Panamanian boxer Roberto “Mano de Piedra” Durán and co-starring Robert de Niro, will be released simultaneously in the United States and Panama on August 26, the director told EFE today of the film, Jonathan Jakubowicz.
The film, which began shooting in 2013, has been slow to release because the distributor was waiting for the “best moment” to release it, the Venezuelan director pointed out.
“Two boxing movies were released last year, ‘Southpaw’ and ‘Creed’ (for which Sylvester Stallone won the Golden Globe for best supporting actor, the first of his career). It was not logical to saturate the market with another one, “acknowledged Jakubowicz, who is also responsible for the script.
“Hands of Stone” tells the life of “El Cholo”, the Panamanian boxer who made his debut in the ring in 1968 and became the best lightweight of all time, and explores with special attention the relationship that the athlete maintained with his coach Ray Arcel, a Jew from the New York neighborhood of Harlem.
Durán (1951) “has a mixture of nobility with anger, of violence with tenderness, which allows us to say many things about what we Latin Americans are culturally,” said Jakubowicz.
The role of “El Cholo” is played by the Venezuelan Édgar Ramírez and the “Oscar winner” Robert De Niro gets into the shoes of the Jewish coach. The cast is completed by the Cuban-Spanish actress Ana de Armas and the American Ellen Barkin.
The film, which was shot almost entirely in Panama, is one of the most anticipated releases of the season in the Central American country.
Film about “Mano de Piedra” Durán opens on August 26
