New to VOD this week:
INMATE #1: THE RISE OF DANNY TREJO
Director:
Brett Harvey
World Premiere:
Calgary 2019
Select Festivals:
Mill Valley, Raindance
About:
A portrait of the prolific character actor best known for the role of Machete.
Actor Danny Trejo has had a decidedly unconventional career path, as signaled by the dual meaning in the title of this biographical profile. While borrowing the generic name of many of Trejo’s early background roles as a prison heavy, the doc’s title also alludes to his long years behind bars. As related here, heroin addiction led to armed robbery and hard time in San Quentin, among other prisons, where he took up boxing and picked up his distinctive tattoos. Trejo got clean and sober after serving time, becoming a counselor and coach for many years before beginning his unlikely career in film, celebrated here by fellow actors and friends. While overextended and repetitive at times, this fairly conventional biography is largely carried by Trejo’s infectiously gregarious personality and redemptive message.
what (not) to doc 