Opération Luchador (2021)

(On Cable TV, November 2022) While Opération Luchador doesn’t quite click at a higher level, what’s on-screen is a remarkably odd fever dream of a concept, surprisingly well researched in its attempt to create a hilarious secret history of World War II. That it comes from French Canada is a bonus. Presented as a documentary about the secret history of the Nazi regime, it focuses on the mysterious figure of a luchador who fought the Nazis and eventually stopped them from bombing Manhattan. A lot of fake interviews are intercut with narration, “historical” footage and other standard mockumentary techniques. Writer-director Alain Vézina does get very clever (and playful!) if you’re into WW2 or even Hollywood history, as he weaves historical detail with a very specific brand of comedy. The result is certainly not perfect—in trying to work within a secret history framework, the film is limited by a certain adherence to history, and its comic sensibilities don’t always have a lasting power: the joke can become thin and stretched at times. As a low-budget production, it’s also limited in strange ways—such as the interview footage with a wrestler who speaks English with a thick French-Canadian accent that can’t be justified in-story. But as far as off-the-wall movies go, Opération Luchador is just different enough, just amusing enough to be worth a look.