After two years inactive and convalescence due to an injury caused by a brawl in a clandestine establishment, the inspector Crisanto Perales (Eusebio Poncela) , nicknamed ¨Sultan¨, rejoins the national police force . As Crisanto is reintegrated into the service and the first case he will have to solve , results to be apparently very easy , but thing go wrong and it gets complicated . His friend Deputy Commissioner González is then murdered , although tracking the murder will be very difficult because he no longer has the confidants he once had . Perales ends up discovering a sinister plot resulting unpredictable consequences , being helped by a stubborn cop woman (Isabel Mestres) . Along the way , Crisanto falls in love for a beautiful girl , Ana (Mamen del Valle) .
This is a Spanish Film Noir with intrigue , violence , suspenseful , twists and turns . This agreeable movie is nicely set , well paced with an original plot , a good narrative pulse and the fine characters are fully recognizable , though it makes overlong . Zorrilla's first movie with a simple and cold staging but little by little is more complicated and even difficult to follow at times , until a surprising and unexpected ending in which things become clear . The picture starts in ordinary and quiet way when a cop returns to his job after two years of inactivity , then an old colleague offers him to investigate a simple and a priori easy case that will get complicated after the deputy commissioner's death . There is a strong denunciation of the police procedures , updating an old approach of the American Film Noir that since the thirties began strongly criticize the judicial aspects hidden for the great part of society . This El arreglo(1983) exceeded the minimum required at the time , thus maintaining a worthy and interesting film today . Highlights the splendid performance by veteran actor Eusebio Poncela who , nowadays , goes on acting with notable successs . Being competently accompanied by a good cast , such as : Pedro Díez del Corral, Isabel Mestres , Carmen Rossi , Emilio Fornet, Pilar Alcón , Adrián Ortega , Raúl Fraire , Will More , Marta Fernández Muro , among others .
The motion picture was well written and directed by José A. Zorrilla , though it has some flaws, gaps and failures . It had prizes and nominations , such as : Fotogramas de Plata 1984 Nominee Best Movie Actor Eusebio Poncela , Winner Sant Jordi Awards 194 Best Spanish Actor Eusebio Poncela and Award new directors in San Sebastián Film Festival along with the movie ¨Bruselas de noche¨ by Marc Didden. Writer and director José A. Zorrilla was a good craftsman , though with a brief career , as he made only documentary : ¨El barranco de Viznar¨, ¨El desierto y las olas¨ and three films : ¨El invierno en Lisboa¨ , ¨A los cuatro vientos¨ and this ¨El arreglo¨. Rating : 6/10 . Acceptable and passable . The pic will appeal to Spanish cinema fans.
