ma-cortes
Outrageous movie with odd characters , surreal imagery and twisted plot . Rafael is the best salesman in the biggest mall of Madrid called Yeyo's , a Corte Ingles-alike . He is an attractive man; all his colleagues fell in love for him . He attempts to live high-standard existence . He is definitively mean and aspires to be the new head of sales at his department store . As the ambitious playboy named Rafael ( Guillermo Toledo) and his contender (Luis Varela) are two salesmen who reach the heights of success with their jobs , but a chief-vacancy turning them into deadly enemies . However , the hate between them grows as fast, and as much, as their strong facing off and there takes place a murder . Lourdes (Monica Cordero) , the ugliest woman in the floor , unexpectedly helps Rafael to hide the corpse , but her help isn't for free . It all ends with a breathtaking and operatic duel in a downward spiral of madness . Alex De la Iglesia is an excellent Spanish director . He had much success as "Accion Mutante" , " El Dia De la Bestia" , "Perlita Durango" and ¨La Comunidad¨ , among others . De la Iglesia is back with a tragical comedy about an ambitious man pursued and blackmailed by a bad woman . Here deals with a homage to dark humor and a typical Spanish story in which there are comedy, tongue-in-cheek , humor, killings, action, drama and is pretty entertaining . It's an exaggerated drama/comedy giving the perfect tone through the entire film , you can either follow it or just wander about the ridiculousness of every single minute . Some may regard this kind of dramatic comedy dull or dumb , but the truth is its the most simple , minimalistic, rawest, and pretentious comedy you will ever watch .This is a full-on surreal psychotronic black-comedy that blends thrills , suspense , tension as well as an intriguing script full of dark humor , drama and exciting situations . Packed with scenes of absurd nature, this story is a fantastic farce, as we follow the ridiculous careers of a pair of salesmen whose destination is dictated by a superior promotion, rather than by their own decisions , it is inter-weaved by the appearance a third character , a rogue and selfish girl . The narration is so filled with colorful characters , nutty comedy, crazy violence mixed with comedy or with surreal elements and an underlying sense of tragicomedy, and it is so excessive and plenty of surprises, one can't help but keep watching, much as it is over the top in many an occasion. The film works on various levels and is constantly reconfigured , however contains some embarrassing , contriving moments and also certain excess . Alex De La Iglesia has created a picture here that in all honesty is very difficult to categorise in terms of genre , as there's a little bit of action , quite a lot of comedy, a good deal of suspense and a host of extreme gruesomeness ; but it does not fit into any one genre very well at all, in truth this is one of the things that makes it good . Acting personnel all do excellent work in bizarre roles. But special notice needs to be made for Monica Cordero for also being quite ridiculously role throughout . Strong performance from three protagonists Guillermo Toledo , Monica Cordero and Luis Varela and excellent plethora of secondaries as Fernando Tejero , Javier Gutierrez , Rosario Pardo, Enrique Villen and a gorgeous Kika Miro . Interesting screenplay Alex De La Iglesia and Javier Guerricaechevarria who usually work united . Atmospheric and glimmer cinematography by Jose L Moreno with a good camera work . Suspenseful musical score by Roque Baños , the soundtrack flows great with the film in every way, and creates fantastic atmospheres in every moment. The motion picture is well directed by De La Iglesia . He's a cool director has got much success as ¨Accion Mutante¨ ,¨Dying of laughter¨ or ¨Muertos De Risa¨ , ¨Baby's room¨ , ¨Oxford murders¨ and ¨Balada Triste De Una Trompeta¨ and winner of several Goyas (Spanish Oscars), however his movies have not yet reached box office in USA, but he has strong followers . Nonsense, ridicule , laughters , absurdity , disturbing scenes .. and many other issues ; you can find everything in this flick . The movie is a lot of fun, especially for those who enjoy surrealist humor . This is without a doubt a thrilling and enjoyable movie to be enjoyed for dark humor buffs and Alex De Iglesia fans.
rooprect
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.
jotix100
Alex de la Iglesia is one of the most daring Spanish directors working today. Right from the start we must confess we don't particularly care for his style in his previous films. With the exception of "La Ciudadela" and this savagely funny comedy, "Ferpect Crime", the others don't measure up to the quality of these two. The director must be forgiven for the excesses of the past. In a way, this film shows a lot of control, something his previous work didn't have.The result is one of the funniest movies that came from Spain recently. We didn't get a chance to see it in its commercial run, since it didn't last too long in local theaters. The story is a modern fable about what lengths human beings go in order to succeed. Never mind that in order to attain one's goal involves murdering your enemy.Rafael, a personable salesman at Yeyo's department store, has a rivalry going with Don Antonio, who is also assigned to the same floor. Both men hope their sales will make their superiors value the best and make him floor manager. When Antonio wins, because he discovers an irregularity on Rafael's sales receipts, the losing candidate vows to avenge being humiliated by the other man.Rafa, who is a ladies' man, doesn't have a clue about to what extent will Leonor go to claim him for herself. Leonor is a rather homely woman who is the epitome of efficiency. She has witnessed Rafa's sexual involvement with some of the other sales women and she happens to be at the right place, at the right time when Don Antonio suffers a fatal stroke. Leonor will stop at nothing, and Rafael must pull away from this woman who wants to own him at all costs. When he does, little does he know what a genius Leonor turns out to be on her own.The best thing in the film are Guillermo Toledo and Monica Cervera. As Rafael and Leonor, these actors make a wonderful team under the director's guidance. Ms. Cervera reminds us of another actress with a peculiar look in the Spanish cinema, Rosy DePalma, another excellent comedienne. Mr. Toledo and Ms. Cervera are worth the price of the DVD as they are fantastic in the film.Alex de la Iglesia should stay in this course when directing other film.
bodomo
De la Iglesia has come up with a pastiche of good ideas from pre-existing, classic movies, and stuck them together into "El crimen ferpecto". The gaudy sets and primary colors are a dead ringer for Almodovar movies, the cops with their mannerisms are pure Hitchcock, and the ending is a straight rip-off from Fellini's "8 1/2"---the only missing thing there is Nino Rota's score, although they substituted that by something equivalent.The result is a movie that you will have a good time watching, but about which you'll forget all 2 days later.On the positive side, it's a funny dark comedy. On the negative side, it loses *a lot* of steam in the second half, and the numerous imitations of other directors yield a disjointed end result---like expecting to get a working animal if you grab one part (even the best part) from many others and then put them together haphazardly.