NS Movie Night: Nacho Libre

​Feeling like you want a chill Friday night? You are cordially invited to a special presentation of Nacho Libre, a film that exists at a fascinating crossroads of comedic devotion and cultural debate.

​Upon its release, Nacho Libre proved to be one of the most polarizing cult comedies of its decade. Adherents champion the film as a jewel of modern cinema, celebrating its distinctive cinematography, its immaculately stylized world, its endlessly quotable dialogue, and its surprisingly sincere heart. Detractors, however, have decried it as a disgrace to the sacred and storied culture of lucha libre, viewing its broad parody as a reductive caricature of a national passion.

​The 2006 feature from director Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite) charts the singular journey of Ignacio (portrayed by Jack Black), a humble friar serving at a monastery in Oaxaca, Mexico. Tasked with cooking for the orphans under his care, but dismayed by the meager provisions his faith provides, Ignacio finds an unorthodox path to salvation. He puts on the mask and cape of a luchador (a professional Mexican Lucha Libre wrestler), secretly entering the ring as "Nacho" to win prize money for his beloved orphans, all while navigating the strict religious taboos of his order and the affections of the beautiful Sister Encarnación.

​Is it a brilliant fable of faith, spandex, and "eagle powers"? Or is it a cultural misstep that misses the soul of the sport it portrays?

​Tonight, we set aside the critics. We invite you to be your own judge. Join us for this screening and decide for yourselves.