Blake Rivera
If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.
jotix100
It's the end of the Fujimori's era in Peru. Vladimiro Montesinos, one of the shadiest characters involved in the Fujimori administration flees the country, only to return a short time after. Videos in which Montesinos is shown accepting bribes from people seeking all kinds of political gains are revealed and shown to the nation on television. It was a dark time for Peru and its citizens.What we watch in this film is how the corruption affected a cross section of the population. We see the wealthy lawyer who loves young girls and tries to entice an innocent young woman to have sex with him under the pretext he is trying to help her imprisoned father. At the same time, we are introduced to two older men, one of them happens to be the young woman's grandfather, as they discuss what's wrong with the country, and how they see the solution.There is also a vain television news presenter who suddenly discovers a blemish on his cheek. The blemish is a symbol for all what is wrong and how it turns into melanoma that has invaded his body, which seems to mean the way the director of the film, Francisco Lombardi, sees the situation in his home land. Another vignette involves a young man who works at the Lima's Supreme Court of Justice, as the person who brings coffee to the different offices. He happens to live in a fantasy world, living vicariously through the American videos he watches in the rented room of a poor family. This man happens to be in the right place, at the right time, because his video viewing pays off when he lands a job looking at the transcripts of the Montesinos' video tapes.The last story interlaces a colonel who finds out he has been ousted from the government. He has no strength to commit suicide. When he strikes a young woman who happens to be running right in front of his car in a busy highway, he realizes he must take her to get medical attention. The colonel becomes involved with this woman's recovery. Her husband is in charge of unearthing bodies of people that have been killed by the military forces, following orders, no doubt from the higher ups like Vladimir Montesinos and the corrupt army bigwigs.Francisco Lombardi is a great director, and don't you forget it! Mr. Lombardi never ceases to amaze in the way he sees what's wrong in his society, or in politics, as is the case on this highly charged movie. He brings all these different characters together in stories that touch one another in ways one doesn't expect. He seems to be telling us how all humans are interconnected, whether we realize it, or not.For this film, Mr. Lombardi assembled a talented cast. Gianfranco Brero, a great collaborator of the director, has the pivotal role of Colonel Revoredo. Gustavo Bueno, is the evil lawyer with the right connections and the money to buy influence. Patricia Pereyra is excellent as the suffering Elena, whose husband is in danger for daring to reveal to the nation where the dead are buried. Paul Vega is also amazing as Gonzalo, the vain man, who suddenly faces his own mortality. Melania Urbina, plays Mercedes, the sweet young woman who is the object of the lawyer's sexual fantasies. Carlos Gassols and Jorge Rodriguez Paz, appear as the two old men in the hospital.The film is a document about recent Peruvian events. Francisco Lombardi dared to present this story in the only way he knew how to do it: truthfully!
xu
Good plot, excellent performances and very good direction. It's an intelligent and touching film. The moral ambivalence of the characters makes them very rich and the background of the Fujimori-Montesinos scandal adds interest to the main storyline(s). One of the best movies I've recently seen
marymorrissey
this movie was similar to Traffic in some ways and runs about the same length I really wanted it to end but only to find out what would happen I had no idea it was such a long movie while watching. It's way better than Traffic though!!!! Especially delectable is this whole sort of whimsical poetic aspect. . . that comes from one of the characters who is obsessed with movies.Also another thing about it that was cool is it kind of wraps up relatively quickly given the scale and a lot of stuff happens in such rapid succession that it really takes you a while to sort out all this sh*t that happens, you spend the first 20 minutes after the movie's end sort of reevaluating who a number of these people were you've watched for 2.5 hours analyzing all this information that has just been conveyed very subtly in the various interlocking denouments (sic).HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
