Le crime farpait

After his latest experiment with new genres (no less than a western) with "800 balas", Álex de la Iglesia goes back to his habitual black comedies and proves he is still in top form. "Crimen ferpecto" is probably his most accomplished film so far, and surely the funniest.

Looking back at his oeuvre, there are very good films ("La comunidad" is still his best) but also average ones ("Muertos de risa" had its edge, but was pointless). "Crimen ferpecto" is the deserving follow-up to "La Comunidad", after the failure of "800 balas", and keeps showing the evolution of the director/writer towards creative maturity.

Guillermo Toledo plays Rafael, de la Iglesia's best leading male character so far. He is at his best playing this womanizer in trouble, elegant, seductive and utterly charming. He is accompanied by Mónica Cervera, who will certainly break through in this film after his impressive turn as a retarded young woman in "Piedras". She plays the wicked witch of the men's department, ugly, manipulative, evil but yet a character one can sympathize with.

The high point of this comedy is certainly the part in which the couple visits the girl's family (Gracia Olayo is brilliant in a bit part as Lourdes' mother), the audience could hardly stop laughing. The rest of the footage combines lighter comedy, dark comedy, thriller and even a little share of action.

It's a shame, however, that I could not be pleased by the ending. It's difficult to find a satisfying ending when one has sympathized with both Rafael and Lourdes, who both have played the roles of "good" and "bad" in turns. Eventually both of them get what they deserve, but is life really like that? I expected an edgier ending, but still appreciated "Crimen ferpecto" as one of the best comedies of the year.

Overall rating: 8/10

Now, this movie is not going to mark the history of dark comedy cinema, but believe me it's waaay better than a whole lot of stuff that has been strewn around by USA, French and Italian makers lately. The pacing is fast, well kept though with a few ludicrously foreseeable passages; the cast is really good in painting the characters, almost all of them well performed and denoted, in landscaping the interpersonal relations and the working environment, in adding the zest of surreality which makes the good of the movie but -at the same time- avoiding the downfall into clownesque. Indeed, there is a clear directorial decision to remove this movie from the "credibility" section, to the surreal/grand-guignol/grotesque side, but the operation is successful, if you do not mind...and if you know where the "FerPecto" inversion comes from, then you'll enjoy it. The very end is indeed below the expectations that the plot built, but you won't guess it in advance.

This Spanish film, Crimen Ferpecto, doesn't sound so appealing based on its fairly typical plot. Rafael, a women's department manager at a Spanish clothing store, is a womanizer concerned only with his own personal advancement and achieving what he believes to be a perfect life, is thwarted by Lourdes, a sales clerk in the same store, and a rather unattractive woman, blackmails Rafael into a relationship, after discovering a secret Rafael cannot have revealed.

However, I was pleasantly surprised at how often I laughed out loud. Crimen Ferpecto moves at a fairly quick pace with lots of entertaining situations.

First off, both Guillermo Toledo, as Rafael, and Monica Cervera, as Lourdes are convincing in their portrayals. What makes their performances enjoyable is their mutual ability to create interesting dynamics within their characters. Rafael, is, essentially a boorish lout, yet Toledo manages to make him sympathetic at times especially as his entanglement with Lourdes get more and more complicated. By the same token, Lourdes, the "ugly" sales clerk, proves, as a twist on the character type, to be just as ugly on the inside. They are constantly sparring, as Lourdes tries to rope Rafael into marriage, and he tries to remove her from his life. While amusing, the sparring, as the film reaches its climax, does get a little wearing. The first half of Crimen Ferpecto working better then the latter half.

Also, a standout is Luis Varela as Don Antonio, Rafael's rival in becoming store manager. Without giving too much away of the plot, his character gets a surreal treatment and haunts Rafael as he attempts to deal with Lourdes. I thought some of the interplay between Rafael and Don Antonio were among the best in the film.

Crimen Ferpecto is light entertainment at it's best. It offers some genuinely funny moments that are well conceived and executed. Guillermo Toledo and Monica Cervera also give stand out performances in their roles as Rafael and Lourdes with Luis Varela, as Don Antonio, backing them up admirably.

I Just can't get enough of this. I watched this movie alone the first time, then I showed it to my flat mates. Now I'm looking forward to the next time friends visit me so I can watch this movie again with them.

The thing I liked most about this movie was the extremely smooth way of telling the story. As the movie started, I almost immediately got sucked into the story by the hypnotic, yet very funny way of displaying the plot. Not only the script or the acting, but also camera, light, sound and editing - all aspects of the movie presentation where thoughtfully placed and dozed to make up the right mix for a really well made movie.

The way of telling the story is almost a story for itself. The sequence of the scenes performs twists of its own, the way they are filmed and edited adds a whole new level, a sub plot so to speak. The scene presentation, the "image", plays an important role and I'd say it's the most grave factor that makes this movie unique.

The pace of the movie (regarding the story telling style, not the plot itself) slows down towards the end to leaves space for more roughness and suspense.

I really hope to see much more of Alex del la Iglesia in the future because what I got to see yet is always getting even better.

8 out of 10.

El Crimen Ferpecto is absurdly funny from beginning to end. Rafael Gonzalez (played by a man who looks like the Spanish Dennis Miller) is a fearless lady's man from the moment he pops on screen and reveals his philosophy on life – he goes for what he wants, and he only wants the best. That's why he doesn't mind working at an upscale department store. He's constantly surrounded by perfect things and beautiful co-workers. His perfect world comes crashing down, however, when Rafael and his boss get into a brutal fight that leaves a clothes hanger in Rafael's throat and a coat hook in the back of his boss's neck. His ugly, sex-starved, co-worker Lourdes helps him dispose of the body and cover-up the murder, and then blackmails him for all the sex, love, and affection he can give. Just when you think Rafael's life can't get any worse, it does, and every new punishment Lourdes inflicts on him is better than the one before. Pure entertainment.