I never heard of Victor Young Perez before, not that I'm a huge boxing fan or so (just watching a fight every now and then),but the truth is that his story is worth to be told, it's captivating (you can't help rooting for him),it's sad and emotional, but mostly it's a well made movie with good actors. I've been postponing to watch this movie for a while, thought I wasn't ready yet to watch another movie about boxing, but when I finally decide to watch it I realized it's just not only about boxing (although the boxing scenes are superb) but also about injustice, perseverence etc. In short, Victor Young Perez is a movie worth watching, and a name I won't ever forget from now on.

"Victor 'Young' Perez" (2013 release from France; 110 min.) brings the story of Victor Perez. As the movie opens, we are told it is "Poland, November 1944" and see an older guy running rounds while shadowboxing in the grounds of Auschwitz. Then the movie flashed back to "Tunis 1929", and we get to know that same man as a young boxer wanna-be. It is Victor Perez, a Tunisian with Jewish roots. One day, he gets the chance to box for real, and it's not long before Perez rises through the ranks and attracts the attention of a sports agent in Paris. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this movie is a traditional bio-pic of an extraordinary man, and I say this with the most respect for the movie's producers. They must be praised for bringing this story to the big screen, as it deserves to be seen and heard. It is therefore unfortunate that for me the movie feels like a "bio-pic by the numbers", with little tension and a surprising lack of background information on the title character himself. Yes. we see him box but what was it like for him to grow us as a Tunisian with Jewish roots? That is never addressed! The scenes at Auschwitz are of course harrowing but it still doesn't make up for the movie's other shortcomings. But I am still giving it 7 stars as the story is so compelling and more people needs to be exposed to it.

I recently saw this movie at the 2016 Jewish & Israeli Film Festival here in Cincinnati. Given its original release in 2013 in France, I have no idea why it has taken this long to reach US audiences, but better late than not at all, I suppose. The Cincinnati screening was attended very nicely. "Victor 'Young' Perez" is, warts and all, worth checking out.

I had the opportunity to see "Victor Young Perez" at the Hamptons International Film Festival. The story of a Tunisian Jewish boxer who rose to fame in prewar France, only to be consigned to Auschwitz during the German occupation of Paris, real-life Olympic Gold Medalist Brahim Asloum portrays Perez with convincing athleticism and surprising confidence. While parts of the film are difficult to watch--the boxing scenes are realistically bloody--"Victor Young Perez" is alternately inspiring, horrifying, enthralling and infuriating. The film is beautifully shot, well directed and consistently gripping. Actress Isabella Orsini, in the part of Perez's love interest, is a luminous beauty who is every bit the 1930s movie star she portrays. When all is said and done, "Victor Young Perez" is not to be missed.