Perdita Durango

Today European cinema has got quite a few action-oriented directors who can give their American colleagues a run for their money. One of the best is Spain's Alex de la Iglesia who for this effort grabbed a character from David Lynch's and Barry Gifford's "Wild at Heart" and made this outrageous and violent road-movie out of it, starring Rosie Perez in probably her wildest (and best) part ever. Almost every single scene and shot is an eyeopener and furthermore there's a rare opportunity to see late 60'es bad guy Don Stroud again, while James Gandolfini seems to be preparing his sleazeball character of Tony Soprano. "Perdita Durango" is stunningly photographed by Flavio Martínez Labiano and Simon Boswell provided it with a pumping Jerry Goldsmith-esque score. This film was banned in Ireland which should be a recommendation in itself.

Despite almost universal condemnation of this film by critics, I found this to be an absolutely fantastic ride of a film, Alex de la Iglesia's latest film after El dia dela Bestia,Perdita Durango showed what an immense talent that Iglesia is, ranging in styles from a thriller thru to a road movie this is a movie that HAS to be seen. With outstanding performances by all the lead characters this is a film that is able to transcend genres by the sheer audacity of the directors approach to the material, which is based (loosely) on a true story, yes all the characters are abhorrent but who cares this is not a film where you need to like the characters, it's more a film about where you like the two victims in the film are taken along for the ride, and you are not going to be freed until the end of the film. I personally cannot wait until Alex de la Iglesia's next film hits the cinemas.

I saw six movies in three days at my first Toronto Film Festival -- this one last, after a slow-moving Japanese film, "Afterlife" (which I also enjoyed, and the pace of which set up this film wonderfully). I saw this uncut and on the big screen, and it shot right through my veins like an amphetamine from a slingshot. Javier Bardem is one of those rare actors who is so good, who disappears so far into his roles, that a lot of people still don't know him. Pity -- he's the pivot of this film, the steady-burning sun around which equally dazzling Rosie Perez throbs in her mad ecliptic orbit. The acting is, in fact -- in spite of what you're reading elsewhere here -- perfectly pitched in all quarters. I managed to get an uncut video copy online a few years back from ebay, and it IS true, the movie loses a bit in the translation from big-screen to small, but trust me, it's still a wild ride. I left the theater feeling like I'd been set on fire with gasoline and Vaseline.

I stumbled into this film while channel surfing the other night and couldn't turn it off. There's something compelling about the performances of Javier Bardem and Rosie Perez that transform this film from what could have been a mediocre exploitation film to something well worth watching. There's a lot of original thinking here and luckily the director and editor got the mix just right to pull of a real gem. There is a mix of comedy, romance, evil, pathos and irony blended in a way to keep you off balance and always wondering what's around the next corner (what's with the fetuses?). 7 out of 10.

Romeo Dolorosa (Javier Bardem) is a voodoo Santeria priest bank robber. He meets hardcore Perdita Durango (Rosie Perez) at the Mexico-America border. The two criminals connect for an odyssey of lawlessness. The couple kidnaps blonde young couple Duane (Harley Cross) and Estelle (Aimee Graham) off a busy street to be raped and used for sacrifice. Romeo gets a truckload of fetus to be used for cosmetics on their way to Las Vegas. They are pursued by DEA agent Willie 'Woody' Dumas (James Gandolfini). It's crazy. It's wild. It's also a mess. Bardem and Perez are simply superb as this insane criminal couple especially Bardem. The movie is filled with unforgettable scenes. It has some dark humor and some disturbing parts. Graham and Cross add a nice foil. Their fight is comedic. The chaos and insanity do wear thin after awhile but this is something uniquely memorable.

As one Argentine critic said: "You love it or you hate it" -he rated the movie with an excellent-. I really love it and it´s because there aren´t so many movies such as this. Perdita Durango hasn´t a great plot, but this film really didn´t need it. It doesn´t matter if a scene has nothing to do with the plot, because this film doesn´t care about it. You have to be open-minded to watch it, with not so many expectatives about it, and you will like it very much. Remember that Perdita Durango wasn´t an expensive film. It has very hilarious parts, some gore ones (not so much), action, sex, deaths and some controversial themes and quotes. A nice bundle of things that I personally like in movies. The movie reminds me of some movies such as "Doom generation" and some parts of "From dawn till dusk". I rate Perdita Durango with a 7 out of 10.