Cilantro y perejil

"Cilantro y Perejil" is, in a way, your typical romantic comedy, but it is so in a very Mexican, light, fun and entertaining way, which is rare in cinema from this country. It might be predictable and not-too-bright, but what it lacks in depth, this film compensates in spice, humor and the sense transmitted through the screen that the people who made it actually tried to do a good movie, and enjoyed it. German Dehesa's interventions are delightful, and lower the saccharine factor in the love stories. The stories complement each other nicely, and each of them is represented by the most famous faces in the new Mexican Cinema. It really is worth seeing just as an accomplishment at its time and a precursor of films like "Sexo, Pudor y Lágrimas".

The film Cilantro y Perejil is a good example of a film that has more to it than meets the eye. Although the film is full of clichés that could possibly happen throughout many people's lives, the way in which the film is presented has a funny twist to it that sets it apart from most of films about marriage and monogamy. In Cilantro y Perejil the main character's sister, Nora, is constantly interviewing people for a project, therefore making it a film within a film. She catches many moments that would not usually be in a typical romantic comedy that adds a very different element to the film.

Also, there is a psychiatrist in the film that throughout the scenes gives his commentary and professional advice about love, marriage and monogamy. His wording and personality add as a comic relief to the film and keep things interesting for the viewer. The director does a great job of making the viewer experience the same emotions as the characters through all of the down to earth and awkward situations that happen in day to day life.

The film is worth seeing for anyone who has a sense of humor and an interest in seeing the dynamics of a less than perfect marriage, and all that goes along with it.

Maybe fans of 'fresa' humor will enjoy this. But other than a few sarcastic bits, it is just a lame sitcom with annoying characters who go through boring situations, with a documentary-within-a-movie splitting up episodes. The documentary bits are sometimes interesting, and sometimes just as lame as everything else. This does not fall in the school of daring, cutting-edge, realistic, sarcastic Latin American cinema. Instead it falls in the same group of movies that sound like they were written by the same people who write telenovelas and latino sitcoms, thinking that they are funny, just because somebody in Televisa likes this crap and wants to keep Mexican people ignorant, so that they do not rebel against the governing status quo. Alright, this sounds far too revolutionary and almost makes the movie sound like it had anything to do with politics or social commentary. It is merely a lame sitcom, stretched out.

Not horrible, but not worth your time.

I didn't have very high expectations when I rented this DVD, but even those expectations were not met. The movie is about a couple that suddenly separates and somehow does not manage life after that. The husband and wife seem to have forgotten how to be independent human beings.

The main topic of the film is relationships, but there is nothing innovative or interesting in the way the story is told. On the downside, the actors deliver poor performances although some of them are actually talented (as they have proved in other movies), and the editing is a disaster. Apart from the main narrative, the movie is constantly interrupted by grainy images of the main characters blabbering some platitudes about relationships and even grainier images of a TV psychologist giving inane advice to his viewers. It is hard to develop interest in the story or the characters, and the low-quality of the aesthetic aspects of the film make it a no-go area. I honestly found this movie unbearable and cannot recommend it to anyone.

The movie Cilantro y Perejil follows the ups and downs of a relationship among a few couples. However, the entire movie is supposed to be a documentary about relationships which is filmed by the main character's sister, Nora. The aspect of using a character as almost a director was an interesting technique, because we were able to view the story through the eyes of Nora, thus we are able to witness both the good and the bad. This technique also helped the viewer to relate to the characters because we were able to see their desperation to appear "normal" (by begging Nora not to show arguments in the documentary), and normality is a quality everyone seeks in a relationship. The use of the psychiatrist commentary also helped to break up the monotony of the film by adding comic relief and a professional opinion. Plus, it was interesting to see how the children of the main characters Susana and Carlos were affected by their parent's problems, and how, for instance, the daughter often felt abandoned as if her mother was too busy dating to be with her. This also helped the movie move along, as it was nice to take the focus off the main characters every once in a while. However, I must say, that overall the movie is mundane, and seems to go on forever. There was no true climax, and the end was extremely predicable. The main idea of the movie was just too cliché, which made me loose interest and not appreciate the film as much. Overall, it lacked originality.