The Call of the Arena (2006)

Genres - Drama  |   Sub-Genres - Sports Drama  |   Run Time - 105 min.  |   Countries - Burkina Faso, France, Morocco, Senegal  |  
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Synopsis by Jason Buchanan

Saved from a gang of abusive street thugs by a kindly but intimidating wrestler, a nineteen year-old boy goes against the wishes of his domineering mother to pursue the art of grappling as a vocation in the debut feature from Senagalese director Cheikh Ndiaye. In Senegal, where the sport of wrestling is deeply rooted in tradition, music, and spirituality, Andre (Moustapha Gueye) is a superstar. When thieves chase Dakar teen Nalla down the same street where Andre happens to be fixing his truck one afternoon, the well-known brawler puts the ruffians in their place and offers to give the amiable Nalla a ride home. It is during this fateful ride that Nalla realizes his true calling as a wrestler, and sets out in search of his fate despite repeated pleas by his sophisticated mother to seek out a less violent career. Meanwhile, across town, epileptic gambler and ticket scalper Sory (Ibrahima Mbaye) pulls down a tidy profit by selling overpriced seats at the local arena. Little to Nalla and Sory realize that fate has set them on a collision course that will have a profound effect on the lives of both men.

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wrestling-Greco-Roman