Sundance Review: Eva Longoria Bastón examines the feud and friendship of Oscar De La Hoya and Julio César Chávez, Latinx pride in documentary ‘La Guerra Civil’ [Grade: B+]

In sports, there is nothing better than a rivalry. When two opponents step up to face one another, and have nothing more than animosity towards each other and a desire to win, it’s the kind of storytelling you can’t make up. It’s relatable, emotional, and fundamentally human. La Guerra Civil brings us the epic boxing feud between legendary boxers Oscar De La Hoya and Julio César Chávez in the 1990s, leading up to their collision against one another in 1996. But for each fighter, it was more than just about winning a boxing title, or proving who was the best between the two of them. No, it was a battle to determine who was the real face of Mexican boxing. But both men’s path to this fight are full of hard work and similarities.

Julio César Chávez, born in poverty in Sinaloa, Mexico, he fought his way to the top while also surviving an alcoholic, abusive father. When he looked for acceptance from his mother, she would clap back with disapproval of him being in the ring. This toughened César Chávez, to the point, he left home to prove everyone wrong and become the greatest fighter of all time, and have enough money to take care of every one who didn’t believe in him. Using his focus, and his childhood anger against his opponents, he became a champion who would take on anyone that would come in his way. He fought in close to 100 fights, where he was a machine with his left and right hook, and was an unstoppable force, till he started to dabble in alcohol and drugs, which knocked him off the top.

For Oscar De La Hoya, the pretty faced, ‘Golden Boy’ from East Los Angeles, California, his whole life was boxing. Thrown into the ring at the age of five, De La Hoya learned quickly that in order to survive in world, you had to learn how to defend yourself. By training every single day, De La Hoya rapidly became the face of American boxing, winning a gold medal for the USA in the Olympics. But he wanted more than that, because he isn’t just an American, he’s a Mexican-American, beloved by fans from both countries, till his fight with Julio.

At this point, the boxing community and fan base are at a titanic divide, with all the love for De La Hoya disappearing overnight, with people calling him a “pocho,” who is someone that is not fluent in Spanish or Mexican culture, thus not worthy of being called a true Mexican. In candid interviews sprinkled throughout the film, De La Hoya and César Chávez talk about this moment heavily, as this was the moment this fight turned into something more. All De La Hoya wanted to do was fight his hero, and possibly have the torched passed to him, but when César Chávez went along with it, and agree with the fans assessment of his ethnicity, it sparked a rage and drive in Oscar that resulted in the most inspired, hardest work of his career, and an epic showdown that ended the debate of who was better, and if De La Hoya belonged in the same sentence of greatness at César Chávez.

Directed by actress Eva Longoria Bastón (Desperate Housewives), using archival footage of the boxers in their prime, interviews with each man, various members of De La Hoya and César Chávez’s families, as well as boing experts and Latinx celebrities who followed the events every closely, she creates the ultimate sports documentary that feels more personal than anything she has done in her career up to this point. Known for being a celebrated Mexican-American actress and producer, she powerfully examines the machismo attitude still within the Latinx culture, and the notion of if you are not hundred percent Latinx, then you don’t matter. In speaking with Oscar and Julio, she injects her voice, as we hear her asks the questions that millions of Latinx, US-born individuals want to answers to. The answers to these questions aren’t easy, because there is still rooted deep prejudice on the part of César Chávez, but he admits and is trying to repent for his behavior, but this is a conversation that needs to take place, so that all wounds can be healed and the Latinx community can become stronger for it.

The two men have since become friendlier, kinder to one another because of their historical bond in the boxing world. And by bringing their story to life, and injecting heart and soul into a formulaic filmmaking device, Eva Longoria Bastón has created an entertaining, thought-provoking documentary that can be a lesson for Latinx generations to come.

Grade: B+

This review is from the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

Photo courtesy of the Sundance Institute