Pantaleón y las visitadoras AKA Captain Pantoja and the Special Services (2000)

21/07/18

Pantaleón y las visitadoras AKA Captain Pantoja and the Special Services (2000) - Francisco J. Lombardi

Quote:
When Peruvian soldiers stationed in the Amazon go crazy with horniness and begin raping the local women, the army decides that the most obvious solution is to set up a complimentary prostitution service to keep its men in line. The only problem, of course, is that everyone’s sufficiently hung up about sex that the operation has to be a covert one, and in order to ensure discretion, the brass hires Pantaleon Pantoja (Salvador del Solar), an uptight straight arrow who doesn’t even smoke or drink. This may not seem to be the stuff of comedy, but a comedy it is, and a compelling one too, laden with hot sex and standout performances, although a maudlin finale that ties things up too neatly puts a damper on the proceedings. The second adaptation of a novel by Mario Vargas Llosa (the 1975 original was codirected by Llosa) may take on obvious targets (sexual double-standards and hypocrisy), but it does the job — as an outrageous radio shock jock, Aristóteles Picho feels particularly timely in his role.