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 (a movie perpetrated by)

Stars:

Santiago Segura, Javier Cámara, Neus Asensi

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Santiago Segura	...	Torrente
Javier Cámara	...	Rafi
Neus Asensi	...	Amparito
Chus Lampreave	...	Reme
Tony Leblanc	...	Padre
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:

shootout | anti hero | apartment | drug smuggling | drug deal | 

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Taglines:

When you thought that Spanish cinema was improving

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Santiago Segura has claimed that the inspiration for this movie was Cobra (1986), that he conceived as a parody of the 80s action movies. In fact, the own title is a spoof of Stallone's movie, since then in Spain Cobra was titled as "Cobra, el brazo fuerte de la ley" (Cobra, the strong arm of the law).

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Goofs

Torrente's father name is Felipe, but Torrente's ID says that he's son of Antonio.

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Quotes

[subtitled version]
[first lines]
Torrente: Luisito!
Barman: Torrente! What's it gonna be?
Torrente: The usual.

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Connections

References Reservoir Dogs (1992)

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Soundtracks

Apatrullando la ciudad
Written by Santiago Segura
Canciones del Mundo/Warner Chappell Music
Performed by El Fary
Courtesy of B.M.G. Ariola

User Reviews

Don't listen to the critics, this is good stuff!

Whether or not you have ever lived in Madrid, this movie is worth seeing.From putting his father out on the street to beg to stealing old ladies' panties, Torrente shows his true colors as a scumbag all the way through. He is loyal to no one except himself.

Some of the humor is very typically Madrid, such as the making fun of Catalonians and the continual support the fans give of the Athlético de Madrid soccer team. Even so, the English subtitles on this movie are actually quite good - I was impressed how they translated some unique Spanish slang.

Film critics, on the whole, did not favor this movie. This movie is not a serious film, people, so just get ready for raunchy laughs.

Also, don't forget to see Torrente 2: Misión in Marbella. Se pasa aún más.

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:

EUR1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1