NoFace for Film

Title: El Crimen Ferpecto (The Perfect Crime)
Year: 2004 (released in the US in 2007)
Director: Álex de la Iglesia
Starring: Guillermo Toledo, Mónica Cervera, Luis Varela
Rated: R

NoFace for Film rating: 5 out of 7

There’s an old saying that states, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” Unfortunately, all the lemonade in the world wouldn’t have helped the hapless Rafael, the protagonist in El Crimen Ferpecto. A very funny black comedy, El Crimen Ferpecto shows the rapid descent of a man who had it all.

Rafael (Toledo) is a sucessful salesman in the ladies’ department at a major department store in Madrid. As a staunch bachelor, Rafael avoids long term relationships because he fears that it would lead to marriage and children, which he considers a mediocre and pathetic life. A suave, but arrogant ladies’ man, Rafael is living the dream. He’s seduced all the beautiful young salesgirls in his department, his two fellow salesmen worship him, the customers love him, and he’s a shoo-in for the manager position.

That is, until the board awards the promotion to Don Antonio (Varela), a salesman in the men’s department and Rafael’s sworn nemesis. When Don Antonio mysteriously vanishes, suspicious eyes naturally fall on Rafael. As luck would have it, Rafael receives help from Lourdes (Cervera), a saleswoman whom Rafael has never noticed before because of her homely (oh, let’s face it- she’s fugly) looks. However, Rafael would find out too late that her aid comes at a very, very steep price.

Although El Crimen Ferpecto is in Spanish (with English subtitles), the humor wasn not lost in the translation. The first 20 minutes are especially funny, as Rafael addresses the audience directly, introducing us to the people with whom he works and describing his beliefs about marriage. It becomes a little less funny halfway through the film, but there are still many amusing moments. Cervera is a scene stealer as Lourdes, who gives a new meaning to the term “batshit crazy”, terrifying and tormenting Rafael with hillarious results. At first she seems like a shy woman, but Rafael quickly finds out that she’s a tigress, and should be taken very seriously.

Let’s not forget the motley crue of oddball supporting characters, such as the lecherous security guard Rafael pays to look the other way while he has sex in a dressing room, or the detective who would keep both eyes on Rafael if they weren’t crossed. Craziest of all are the members of Lourdes’ family, composed of a narcoleptic father, a no-nonsense mother, and a young sister who’s a pathological liar. Guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

I thought that overall El Crimen Ferpecto is a really good film. It’s not just a black comedy. In fact, some parts are Hitchcockian. There are also some silly, strange sequences when Rafael feels that he’s losing his mind. The last 15 minutes reminded me a little of the ending to The Shawshank Redemption as Rafael plots to regain control of his life. If you’re in the mood for a black comedy and aren’t afraid of subtitles, then check out El Crimen Ferpecto.