El Crimen Perfecto (The Perfect Crime) (2004)

An ambitious salesman will do anything for that big promotion he's been chasing, but inevitably, he will learn that there is no such thing as the perfect crime.

Director:

Álex de la Iglesia (as Alex de la Iglesia)

Writers:

Jorge Guerricaechevarría (screenplay) (as Jorge Guerricaechevarria), Álex de la Iglesia (screenplay) (as Alex de la Iglesia)

Stars:

Guillermo Toledo, Mónica Cervera, Enrique Villén

4 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Guillermo Toledo	...	Rafael González
Mónica Cervera	...	Lourdes
Luis Varela	...	Don Antonio Fraguas
Enrique Villén	...	Comisario Campoy
Fernando Tejero	...	Alonso
Javier Gutiérrez	...	Jaime
Kira Miró	...	Roxanne
Rosario Pardo	...	Señora despistada
Gracia Olayo	...	Concha
José Alias	...	Matías
Penélope Velasco	...	Susana
Montse Mostaza	...	Helena (as Montserrat Mostaza)
Eduardo Gómez	...	Taxista
Enrique Martínez	...	Pepón
Alicia Andújar	...	Desiree

Storyline

An impending much-sought-after promotion at Yeyo's shopping mall in Madrid has created quite a stir, as a new floor supervisor needs to be chosen between Don Antonio, the helpful, experienced, yet, stern and gloomy head of the men's department and Rafael, the seductive, highly skilled salesman and head of the women's department. Without a doubt, competition is hard when there's only room for one, however, when the suave and sophisticated Rafael loses out to his inelegant arch nemesis, he will find himself in a very tight spot when during an argument, he will accidentally kill Don Antonio. Obviously, with him as a prime suspect, handsome Rafael is in dire straits and desperate as he is, he will inevitably accept help from Lourdes, the department's ugly duckling who unfortunately knows all about his misfortune, nevertheless, not without a cost. With his life literally in Lourdes' hands, blackmailed into her preposterous demands, there is only one way out and Rafael will need to stain ...

---

Plot Keywords:

dark humor | sexy | sex scene | loud sex | chauvinist | 

---

Taglines:

A Wicked Good Time!

---

Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Spain]

Country:

Spain Italy

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

22 October 2004 (Spain)

Also Known As:

El Crimen Perfecto (The Perfect Crime)

Filming Locations:

Calle Preciados, 28, 28013, Madrid, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

EUR4,750,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,588, 21 August 2005

Gross USA:

$418,843

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,042,432

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sogecine, Planet Pictures, Digital +

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Several of the clowns and journalists in the last scene are really fans of Álex de la Iglesia. They were invited by the director himself for supporting him through his official website.

---

Goofs

The inspector pulls Don Antonio's bridgework out of the hot furnace on a shovel, picks it off the shovel with tweezers, and drops it into a plastic bag. It should have melted the bag!

---

Quotes

Rafael: That would slowly became a game with only one rule: If I don't do whatever she says, then she'll call to the police.

---

Crazy Credits

Initial credits are written on different papers which are sometimes on the wrong order and then rearrange (Fernando Tejero initially appears as Fernando Rojete; see Dick Van Dyke credit in 'Mary Poppins'). The title initially appears as Crimen Perfecto, and then rearranges to Crimen Ferpecto.

---

Connections

References Beautiful Joe (2000)

---

Soundtracks

Felicita
Written by Gino De Stefani, Dario Farina and Cristiano Minellono

User Reviews

Ferpect Black Humor

This Spanish film, Crimen Ferpecto, doesn't sound so appealing based on its fairly typical plot. Rafael, a women's department manager at a Spanish clothing store, is a womanizer concerned only with his own personal advancement and achieving what he believes to be a perfect life, is thwarted by Lourdes, a sales clerk in the same store, and a rather unattractive woman, blackmails Rafael into a relationship, after discovering a secret Rafael cannot have revealed.

However, I was pleasantly surprised at how often I laughed out loud. Crimen Ferpecto moves at a fairly quick pace with lots of entertaining situations.

First off, both Guillermo Toledo, as Rafael, and Monica Cervera, as Lourdes are convincing in their portrayals. What makes their performances enjoyable is their mutual ability to create interesting dynamics within their characters. Rafael, is, essentially a boorish lout, yet Toledo manages to make him sympathetic at times especially as his entanglement with Lourdes get more and more complicated. By the same token, Lourdes, the "ugly" sales clerk, proves, as a twist on the character type, to be just as ugly on the inside. They are constantly sparring, as Lourdes tries to rope Rafael into marriage, and he tries to remove her from his life. While amusing, the sparring, as the film reaches its climax, does get a little wearing. The first half of Crimen Ferpecto working better then the latter half.

Also, a standout is Luis Varela as Don Antonio, Rafael's rival in becoming store manager. Without giving too much away of the plot, his character gets a surreal treatment and haunts Rafael as he attempts to deal with Lourdes. I thought some of the interplay between Rafael and Don Antonio were among the best in the film.

Crimen Ferpecto is light entertainment at it's best. It offers some genuinely funny moments that are well conceived and executed. Guillermo Toledo and Monica Cervera also give stand out performances in their roles as Rafael and Lourdes with Luis Varela, as Don Antonio, backing them up admirably.