Crimen perfecto - Finché morte non li separi

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

I saw this film at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival. I knew I was going to enjoy this film from the moment a large rumpled man in a Misfits t-shirt lumbered onto the stage to introduce himself. "Hola, amigos. The person who is supposed to introduce me is not here. I am here but she is not here. She is in the bathroom." Director Álex de la Iglesia had us laughing even before the first frame of his film. While admitting that Ferpect Crime was just about the worst title for a film ever, he told us that this film was about a man who was so obsessed with living a perfect life that it was bound to cause problems. It's no surprise to learn that the director has a degree in philosophy.

Rafael works as a salesman in the ladies' wear section of an upscale department store. He's very popular at work, especially with the ladies, and he's very very good at his job. So good, in fact, that he considers himself a lock for the position of floor manager. But after losing the promotion to his hated rival Don Antonio, things take a turn for the worse and pretty soon Rafael has a dead body on his hands. His only help comes from the one woman he hasn't already bedded, the unattractive Lourdes. Before long, Lourdes has Rafael wrapped around her finger and his life is far from the model of perfection he has always pursued. As the plot thickens, the comedy becomes much darker and the film almost turns into a thriller. There is also a strong element of satire, making this much more substantial than the laughs would indicate. The conclusion ("lesson" seems too strong a word here) is that it's only after we give up our unrealistic expectations of living a perfect life that we can really begin to live at all. But if that's too heavy for you, then go just to see the scene where Rafael goes to meet Lourdes' parents. This film makes me want to see every other film by this warm and wickedly funny director.

(9/10)

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.

Rafael Gonzalez (Guillermo Toledo), is a salesman in the ladies section of a fashionable department store in Madrid who has it all: good looks, a sharp wardrobe, and a confident, brash manner that allows him to get his way with women and in the workplace.

Rafael has clear goals, too, the most important of which is to lead a "perfect life," and little patience for anybody who settles for less. Such a proud man, of course, is perfectly set up to take a fall and Rafael plunges very far indeed in this hilarious black comedy by Spanish director Alexis de la Iglesia.

Rafael's slide begins when a hated rival, Don Antonio (Luis Varlea), wins a coveted promotion. An argument follows and Don Antonio ends up dead. Rafael's role in the accident goes undetected by the police only because Lourdes (Monica Cevera), an unattractive coworker he has long ignored, helps dispose of the corpse.

Lourdes assistance comes with a price. She has long carried a torch for Rafael and uses the threat of police exposure to get her own "perfect life." She insists Rafael become her lover, meet her parents, and marry her. In short, Rafael is about to be trapped in the kind of dull, mediocre existence he has always mocked.

Watching Rafael try to escape from the world Lourdes plans for him – raising children in a badly decorated suburban apartment filled with clown paintings and spending evenings collecting ugly miniatures -- provides lots of laughter and entertainment and plenty of insights into contemporary Spain. In the end, each character gets what they want – but as usually happens in life itself – there is a clear winner and loser. Highly recommended.

9/10

It's hilarious. It's poignant. It's artistic. It's even philosophical at times. I can't imagine anyone not liking this film. "Crimen ferpecto" is a great surrealistic comedy along the lines of "Being John Malkovich", "One Night at McCools" or even the masterpiece "Brazil".

The plot begins bizarre, and from there it gets ever bizarrer. Set in a department store (the perfect metaphor for the human condition!), this film brilliantly weaves the themes of glamorous/plastic life versus the mundane/real. Trapped between worlds and desperately trying to achieve the former is our hero Rafael, a man whose entire life exists within the ladies' clothing department. Somehow he gets wrapped up in murder, blackmail and ectoplasmic visitations from lovable corpses. Yeah, I told you it gets bizarre.

But despite the zany plot, there's a very poignant & sober message that runs just below the surface. It's subtle, but it comes to fruition during the magnificent climax when we realize exactly what this whole wacky movie is about. If you've paid attention to symbolism, metaphor, allegory and all that intellectual jazz, you'll get it, and you'll see how everything fits into place. If not, fine, you'll enjoy the picture anyway because it's just plain funny. The beauty is that you can take it at your own pace. Great film. Damn near perfect. Er... ferpect.