Pantaleón y las visitadoras

This movie is based on a book by the famous latin writer Mario Vargas Llosa. The movie is set in Peru, where a very self-disciplined militar man (Pantaleon Pantoja) is ordered to go to a jungle town and set up a service of prostitutes for all the militar men from Peru. The movie is very faithful to the original book, and the presence of the actress angie cepeda as "the colombiana" is very striking, she looks superb in the role of the prostitute who falls in love with Pantaleon. I recommend this movie, its worth the time, specially if you dont have much free time to read the original book. I give it a 8 out of 10

According to author Mario Vargas Llosa , this work is based on real events about an officer who is chosen to set up a prostitution service , as he himself was able to confirm in 1958 and 1964, when Mario traveled to the jungle of Peru. The Peruvian army captain Pantaleon Pantoja (Salvador del Solar) , a very serious and efficient officer, is chosen by his superiors to set up a special service of 'visitors' to satisfy the sexual needs of the soldiers posted on remote jungle outposts. At first unlucky about this assignment, and Pantaleón rejects the idea because it violates the basis of his principles, but he is forced to carry it out. Pantaleón nonetheless puts his remarkable organizational skills in action and in a short time has his 'unit' running smoothly. The service that Pantoja intends to proceed is called the Visitadoras Service for Garrisons, Border Posts and Related Services (SVGPFA), and it consists of taking prostitutes ("visitadoras") to the Iquitos barracks, where they must please the soldiers first and then be extended to higher ranks (services called "performances"), the whole matter being secret .He decides to clean up the area and the base since they were in very poor condition, and he does not say anything to his wife Francisca , nicknamed "Pochita"(Mónica Sánchez) , since her mission is totally secret. In the home front things get complicated though; his wife dislikes his long hours and the secrecy surrounding his work, and he, despite being a dedicated husband, happily married to Pochita , feels tempted by one of his "subordinates" , La Colombiana (Angie Cepeda) and she gets involved with Pantaleón. This is how, with all his talent for administration, "Panta", as the visitors call him, organizes a prostitution service for the army bases that becomes the most efficient unit of the military institution.

Based on the well-known novel published in May 1973, written by the Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2010. Its first run consists of one hundred thousand copies, up to that time the highest number of those released in its first editions . The story takes place in the Peruvian Amazon, where the members of the Peruvian Army are served by a service of prostitutes, whom they call "visitadoras" and in which Pantoja is chosen to carry out this mission for being a model soldier, without vices or children. Among these prostitutes is a very seductive woman, "La Colombiana" with whom he has sex secretly , becoming unfaithful to her wife .

Pantaleón y las visitadoras (1999) turned out to be more complicated and longer than expected , but very interesting, of course. The story of the film is popular enough , telling of a Peruvian Army captain, Pantaleón Pantoja, who is involved, much to his chagrin , by his superiors in a mission to satisfy the sexual needs of a group of soldiers stationed in the Peruvian Amazon. This special service of 'visitors' was taken by Vargas Llosa himself from actual events and with this book, Llosa won the Latin American Prize for Literature in 1975. Pantaleón and the visitors was filmed in Peru in 1999 by Francisco J. Lombardi, who had already adapted another book by Vargas Llosa, The City and the Dogs, for the cinema. Actors such as the Peruvian Salvador del Solar in the role of Pantaleón Pantoja and the Colombian Angie Cepeda in the role of Olga Arellano, nicknamed "la Colombiana" participated in it. As Salvador del Solar gives a nice acting as the Peruvian army captain Pantaleon Pantoja, a very serious and efficient officer, while gorgeous Angie Cepeda is really attractive as the cunning call-girl. Including other notorious actors , such as : Mónica Sánchez , Pilar Bardem , Gustavo Bueno and Carlos Kaniowsky This second film adaptation was shot in Iquitos, Peru with a colorful cinematography from the Amazon jungle by cameraman Teo Delgado, adding an evocative and adequate musical score by Bingen Mendizábal. The motion picture was competently directed by Francisco J. Lombardi.

While the first film version of Pantaleón y las visitadoras was filmed in the Dominican Republic (after the Peruvian Government restricted filming in that country) in 1975, and co-directed by José María Gutiérrez Santos and Mario Vargas Llosa himself, who also had a small supporting military role. The cast of the novel's first film was made up of actors such as the Spanish José Sacristán (Pantaleón), the Mexican Katy Jurado ("la Chuchupe"), the Cuban-Mexican rumbera Rosa Carmina (Rosa, the dancer), Francisco Córdova ( "El Sinchi"), Camucha Negrete ("the Brazilian"), Silvia "China" Gálvez ("Pechuga") and Martha Figueroa (Francisca). The film was not very successful, and was also vetoed by the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces. It was re-released in Peru on November 26, 1981, although with a censored scene where a priest appeared punishing a visitor for her actions.

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"Pantaleon y las Visitadoras" tells of a gung-ho Peruvian Army Captain (del Solar) who is ordered to staff a small corps of happy hookers to improve morale at remote Amazon jungle military outposts. The extremely efficient, straight laced, married Captain, however, finds he has his hands full (in more ways than one) once his troop of hotties (aka: Pantyland) is deployed. With mixed reviews from the critics and respectable marks from the public, this fun little Peruvian dramady gets off to a slow start, runs a tad long at two hours, and is sexy, silly, sweaty, and sepia, making for a lukewarm watch which will appeal most to foreign film freaks into flicks from south of the border. (B-)

The Peruvian army is sick of reporting about violations committed by the soldiers that are detached in the Amazonian jungle. But they have a solution: they'll ask his most straight and serious officer (Captain Pantaleon) to gather together an army of prostitutes that satisfy the necessities of the soldiers. After a few days the captain will fall in love with one of the girls: Olga (Angie Cepeda).

A nice story written by Vargas Llosa, with the exquisite language of the Peruvian writer and with Angie Cepeda, a girl that's not the best actress ever but she's been blessed with a awesome body and a superhuman beauty. She's a piece of art in herself.

Some times is funny, some times is dramatic, and so sensual.. Maybe is too long but its length is reasonable after all.

*My rate: 7/10

I read the book about 1988 and saw most of the movie on TV in Lima in June 2002. The movie captured the spirit of the book very well.

I worked as a civilian employee in a military agency for 30 years. Never during my career did I encounter an officer who was as dedicated and competent as Pantaleon Pantojas. That was the striking feature in the book and in the movie, as well.

Although Iquitos, the city on the Amazon where much of the movie was filmed, is much larger than what is shown in the movie, some elements of the life on the river are reflected in the film.

Can anyone tell me where I can purchase a VHS copy of the movie?

Hugh