Streaming Sleepers: In PITFIGHTER, Jose Montesinos’s Indie Action Knockout
Actor, martial artist and filmmaker Dennis Ruel sadly passed away on Tuesday last week. It was news unexpectant of a talent his caliber with a career as perceivably young as his, having bolstered the independent film scene with a style, poise and creative drive that helped fuel indie action for close to two decades. That sentiment certainly extends to longtime friend and creative partner Jose Montesinos whose shared collaborative trajectory have led to working on a few feature length indies together, including 2013 action drama, Pitfighter.
Currently streaming on several platforms including Peacock and Tubi, Montesinos directs from his own script with Ruel joining lead actor Marco Antonio Alvarez for the story of Carlos (Alvarez), a struggling martial arts teacher who reluctantly joins his brother Ricky (Ruel) in underground illegal barrio matches to save his school from bankruptcy. As both brothers prove themselves making quick work of the arena’s opponents before the crowd, Morales has other ambitions in mind to keep Carlos in the ring. When Ricky makes an off cuff attempt to protect Carlos and his family that goes awry, Carlos is forced to confront Morales and his most prospective fighter, Chuy (Morgan Benoit) in a winner-take-all fight for more than pride.
As far as feature length endeavors go, Pitfighter was another notch of success on the belt of indie action. The film reteams Ruel and Montesinos following their 2009 actioner, Owned, in which Montesinos starred and made his feature debut; the two made a handful of shortfilms together leading up to the project with Ruel tangibly proliferating his trade in the company of The Stunt People in their early history, namely with 2006 hit, Contour. Carrying over the next several years with the development of his own feature debut, Pitfighter, with Ruel also serving as fight choreographer, proffers another exemplary move for the duo, with Montesinos at the helm and crafting a solid picture with a strong lead in Alvarez for the cast.
Alvarez is compelling in the role of Carlos as our protagonist away on multiple ends. He’s a known fighter among some circles, and a family man working to repair his relationship with ex-wife Vanessa (Stacey Rose). There’s also his bond with his brother, the ambit of which tends to get tested due to some of Ricky’s own penchants, including a gambling debt that puts him and the bar he runs for Morales in the hole leading up to the film’s conclusion.
There’s an underlying narrative that pertains to some more personal demons that Carlos has to deal with. This aspect doesn’t go too far into introspective spaces and keeps things on the surface a bit as the story progresses. You see little tidbits here and there, like when Carlos questions Ricky whenever he senses he’s not being up front about something. In a barrio match later in the film, instead of finishing his opponent at the behest of a bloodthirsty Morales, Carlos hesitates. The scene inherently sets the stage for the potential finale between Carlos and Chuy later in the film, having established the latter early on as the proverbial man to beat.
To date, Pitfighter is the only feature film credit Alvarez has, which kind of sucks considering how terrific he is. His charisma illuminates on screen with a script that fleshes out a protagonist who most folks who’ve ever had to fight for anything worthwhile in life can relate to, be it love, money, or purpose. His best comedic moment occurs later when Vanessa’s new and overzealous love interest shamelessly attempts to one-up Carlos only to get humbled, and it’s one of the more redeeming moments he has in terms of getting Vanessa back.
The film also lends the late Ruel one of his more sharper performances as an actor, capable of delivering intense action and stunts, as well as dramatic beats that build characterization. These are things I would have loved to see Ruel build on in future projects having followed his career since 2005, obsessing over The Stunt People videos and eventually discovering Montesinos through his Montanick Productions indie label at the time.
To that end, I haven’t seen Owned in all these years. The good news is that it’s available on Prime Video if anyone’s keen. In the meantime, Montestinos’s Pitfighter is hard-hitting good fun for its duration, and a great way to celebrate the memory of a beloved talent gone much, much too soon.
You can stream Pitfighter (a.k.a. Barrio Brawler, a.k.a. American Brawler) on several platforms including Peacock, Tubi, and Xumo. Check out the trailer in the player below, and stream the film today.
