Torrente, el brazo tonto de la ley (1998)

José Luis Torrente, a former policeman fights against the oriental mafia in Madrid.

Director:

Santiago Segura

Writer:

Santiago Segura

Stars:

Santiago Segura, Javier Cámara, Neus Asensi

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Santiago Segura	...	José Luis Torrente
Javier Cámara	...	Rafi
Neus Asensi	...	Amparito
Chus Lampreave	...	Reme
Tony Leblanc	...	Felipe Torrente
Julio Sanjuán	...	Malaguita
Jimmy Barnatán	...	Toneti (as Jaime Barnatán)
Darío Paso	...	Bombilla
Carlos Perea	...	Carlitos
Manuel Manquiña	...	El Francés
Espartaco Santoni	...	Mendoza
Antonio de la Torre	...	Rodrigo
Javier Jurdao	...	Israel
Carlos Bardem	...	Cayetano
César Vea	...	Borja

Storyline

Torrente is a lazy, rude, drunkard, sexist, racist, extreme-right-wing Madrid cop; a despicable character who only cares about himself. He lives in a decrepit slum with his wheelchair-bound father, whom he treats quite badly. One day, a new family of neighbours move in, and the sexy younger daughter, Amparito, catches his eye, so he becomes a friend of Rafi, her nerdy brother, to get closer to her. At the same time, he discovers that a band of drug traffickers are operating in a nearby chinese restaurant; he knows that if he cracks this case, it could make him regain the status he lost within the police department; but the only people he can count on to help him are Rafi and his equally nerdy friends.

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Plot Keywords:

police | parody | local blockbuster

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Taglines:

Ahora que pensabas que el cine español empezaba a mejorar...

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Details

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

13 March 1998 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Torrente, the Stupid Arm of the Law

Filming Locations:

Leganés, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

€1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Creativos Asociados de Radio y Televisión (CARTEL), Rocabruno S.A., Vía Digital

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

José Luis Torrente: And i don't hit you because i know you like it!

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Connections

Followed by Torrente 2: Mission in Marbella (2001)

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Soundtracks

"El torito guapo"
Written by El Fary (as José Luis Cantero)
Performed by El Fary

User Reviews

darker than dark comedy with no eleventh hour apologies

Spanish auteur Santiago Segura, who wrote, directed and stars in this film, creates a decent if overly dark comedy about corruption. Segura claims to be a member of the Madrid police force, but his outlandish behavior – he drinks before going on duty and forces his wheelchair-bound father to beg to increase his income – hardly demonstrates the qualities required of a representative of the law. When sleazy nymphomaniac Neus Asensi moves in next door, he befriends her cousin, extremely nerdy Javier Cámara. When Segura and his new sidekick accidentally discover a drug ring run through a Chinese restaurant, Cámara calls in his loser friends to help. As the cast gets significantly reduced in a flurry of bullets and tragedy, Segura concludes the film with a few plot twists and the unsettling suggestion that sometimes people are as bad as they seem. An inherently unfunny story gets injected with a dose of morbid wit through Segura's approach to the characters. His attitude toward humanity appears quite dark. Everyone in the film either takes advantage of others or finds himself exploited, and no one seems to wind up punished for their wrongdoings. True, a number of maniacal drug dealers get offed, but so do all of Cámara's awkward, endearing friends. Segura follows few conventions in his portrayal of the world of his deluded cop. Chus Lampreave, familiar from several of Pedro Almodóvar's films, has a nice role as Cámara's mother.