Pantaleón y las visitadoras

A marvelous combination of story, direction and acting! The director, Francisco J. Lombardi, has apparently never directed a bad, or even mediocre movie - The author of the original story, Mario Vargas llosa, is widely acclaimed, and appropriately so.

The casting is superb - no one will ever forget Angie Cepeda, as Columbiana - and Pochita ( Monica Sanchez ) can get mad as good as any actress to ever grace the Big Screen.

Aristoteles Picho is perfect as "El Sinchi."

The dialogue is extremely well done, judging from the English sub-titles. I assume the spoken Spanish is equally outstanding.

Although a highly entertaining comedy, it appropriately reflects an underlying message regarding morality, the military and politics for those who care to observe and reflect.

An essential addition to almost any DVD collection ( It is rated "R," but I would not call it a "hard" "R." )

Pantaleón y las visitadoras , I saw that movie at the Montreal Word Films Festival 2000 on August 28. I didn't know what to expect at first from the title of that movie , I had no idea what the movie was about. Let me tell you I was agreeably surprised. That movie is based on a Mario Vargas Llosa book is very very good piece on entertainment. The story, the actors and the settings was entertaining and well rendered, this is a very good comedy to me. I would recommend it no question ask to anyone ... I hope that this movie will come out on VHS format so I can buy it and show it to my friends. The only problem with the projection that I have attended was the quality of the actual film, I don't know if it was intended (maybe) or not but a lot of exterior scenes had a yellowish halo to it like if the director would have put a yellow filter over the camera lense and also the quality of the film with some badly made cut overs was questionnable. But overall it was a very good comedy with an original story. Finally let me tell you guys that the actress playing the role of Columbiana, Angie Cepeda, is one hot lady, my god we are not used to see that many south american movie up here in Canada and that latino women is a devilish beauty.

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

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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I have seen this movie twice; once in Peru, and the second time in Miami last june. This is an excellent film that has recently been released in major cities like Los Angeles and Chicago. This movie tells the story of Captain Pantoja a very correct and loyal member of the Peruvian army. He is sent to Iquitos, where he is assigned a secret mission; to take care of all the horny servicemen by creating a service of prostitution that will put a stop to all the undesired pregnancies that seem to plague the region. The cast is excellent, and the acting of Salvador Del Solar and the rest of the cast is nothing less of sincere and outstanding. The eroticism may not go well with American critics, but fans of foreign cinema will love this flick. Francisco Lombardi is by far one of the best Latin American directors, sadly Americans seem to care very little for movies that won't appeal to the masses.