Sometimes, history repeats itself. Exactly a half-century ago, in the year of the American bicentennial, a low-profile film — the story of a small-time boxer who, against all odds, went the distance against the champ — became a gigantic hit and ended up vanquishing the likes of All the President’s Men, Network and Taxi Driver to win the best picture Oscar. That film was John G. Avildsen’s Rocky, which was written by and starred Sylvester Stallone. Eight years ago, another film with a low-profile premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it polarized critics but played through the roof with festivalgoers and ended up…
