The Perfect Crime (2004)

Super funny. Very dark. Almost Coen'esque.

I caught this movie once, just by chance, on Showtime and I wanted to buy it right then and there.

Very funny, but also very dark. It almost seemed like a movie the Coens would do.

Highly recommend this movie. November 27, 2008

Manic and hilarious black comedy from Spain

I see the packagers have "fixed" the title of this movie since I saw it at a film festival several years ago. Then, it was "El Crimen Ferpecto" in Spanish, which I guess would translate as "The Ferpect Crime" -- a much more expressive and suitable name for this hilarious film.

Rafael (Guillermo Toledo) has everything he wants -- looks, confidence, a terrific job managing the women's department of the trendy Yeyo department store, the feeling that the rules don't apply to him, and lots of gorgeous coworkers willing to play after hours -- except the top job for which he is competing with Don Antonio (Luis Varela). Comes the showdown, and Rafael is sure he's got the job -- but it goes to Don Antonio! Worse, Rafael loses his temper and Don Antonio fires him, and during a furious argument back in the changing rooms, Rafael accidentally kills his new ex-boss!

Although Rafael manages to dodge immediate suspicion for the crime, he not only fails to dispose of the body (it disappears on him!) but somebody witnessed the death, and that person is ready to blackmail him into . . . marriage? Don Antonio keeps coming back as a severed head or green corpse with a butcher knife embedded in his skull to advise and commiserate with Rafael. Gradually, Inspector Campoy (Enrique Villen) guesses what's going on -- or part of it, anyway. Toledo looks a bit like Dennis Miller doing a John Cleese steadily going crazy. May 3, 2008

Almost ferpect film

I'm not a complete fan of Alex de la Iglesia's movies - he's technically proficient, but the things that tend to interest him (old style cinephilia, terror films of the 70s, pop culture in general) are far from mine. This biting satire of consumerism, though, is probably as perfect (or ferpect) a film as he can make. The movie stars Rafael, who works as the head salesman in the ladies section of a large department store in Madrid (it is subtly touching that Rafael believes his position in society is far more important than it really is). Around him work very beautiful, model-like woman, that he never fails to bed. He's the ruler of a very small kingdom. Soon, a job opens for one of the top posts in the department store, and he founds himself fighting for the promotion against the balding Don Antonio, one of the old-fashioned vendors in the men' section. Rafael accidentally kills him, and after wards disposes of the body. But there is one witness, Lourdes, the ugliest worker in the department store (and I mean, really ugly), who is in love with Rafael. She's also something of a psycho, has a really crazy family and she will then proceed to blackmail Rafael into marrying her in order not to blow the whistle about the murder; a nightmare for the consummate ladies man that is Rafael. The last 20 minutes are something of a letdown (De la Iglesia probably didn't knew how to end the story, since a tragic ending would be out of line with the farcical tone of the movie before), but overall this is a surprisingly strong, entertaining movie, that is also hilariously critical of capitalism. December 8, 2007

Truly one of the funniest movies I've ever seen

I'm so happy this DVD is available in region 1 format. I knew if I waited long enough, it would become available. I saw this movie at the Phila Film Festival the year it came out, and I was totally blown away. I am not an "out loud" laugher, but I was rolling in the aisles, laughing my head off. I highly recommend this sick, hilarious movie. Puts most American comedies to shame. November 20, 2007

Hilarious!!!!

I actually saw this on late night Showtime cable. I liked it so much,
that I plan on sharing it with my Spanish speaking friends. One of these
friends from Mexico City, says the Spanish is different in movies pro-
duced in Spain. It is more formal. This is one of the reasons she likes them so much. I know that she and others will laugh as hard as I did with the subtitles. Definitely worth buying.
September 30, 2007

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