RainDogJr Perdita Durango (Rosie Perez) is at an airport when some gringo tries to be nice with her, saying his name and that he is going to Arizona. Perdita say that to the gringo that if he wants to take her to Arizona, he must cover all and in change she will give him what he wants and also they can make some business, you know some jobs for men. The gringo feels nervous and left the place. That's the way we first know Perdita and soon we will know Romeo Dolorosa (Javier Bardem), a natural born killer with a belief. Romeo is the kind of criminal who is so dam crazy that even his own partners are very nervous while they are stealing something. There is a crazy passion between Romeo and Perdita and upon that we have a unique love story with two sick minds.The plot is quite simple and follows Romeo in a very important job for a big crime boss. Of course his belief will have an important place in this story and at the same time the classic clinging police will be chasing him through the Mexican border. The film is spoken in Spanish and English and the two Americans that Romeo and Perdita kidnap for the ritual are the perfect way to show, in a very funny and sick way, the stereotype of how Americans looks Mexico and the rest of Latin America. Duane (Harley Cross) and Estrellita (Aimee Graham) are two young American lovers that have the bad luck to be blond and to be in the same place that Romeo and Perdita were. It is so damn funny when they arrive to Mexico and Duane says something like "it looks like another planet". Of course the scenes of Romeo's sick rituals of Santeria are one of the reasons of why this film was a failure in America but for me is just quite funny to see Bardem with his cool lock. Anyway, for matters of luck or destiny or whatever that ritual will never be completed and the two young Americans will end being just a complication for the job that Romeo must do, just as that clinging police who will be the reason of why Romeo ends being like a traitor to the criminal boss Santos. So when we realize that the end of Romeo is just matter of time, is just strange that the Americans, after Perdita release them, feels even sorry of her because is a fact that they were near to be the victims of the ritual but in the end their luck or destiny keep them alive and now with a better and stronger relationship and sexual life. If may sound strange but all of that was thanks to their kidnappers even that Romeo and Perdita didn't have those intentions.About the cast:is just amazing; Javier Bardem is just so damn great. His memorable performance is probably my second personal favourite of him being Anton of No Country for Old Men my personal favourite, of course. Romeo has a very mystical past believing in many saints and later practicing rituals in order to satisfy his gods. He has many memorable scenes (the bank rob with his Santo mask is just great) and the end that he always wanted (another amazing scene). Rosie Perez is also great and very sexy as Perdita. There are few things that we know about Perdita but one thing is for sure: she found love. The support cast is also terrific; James Gandolfini, yes Tony Soprano, is the police who will have a really hard but hilarious time in his attempt to end with Romeo. The director of "Sid and Nancy", "Walker" and "Repo Man", Alex Cox, is just hilarious as the partner of Gandolfini's character. I really don't know why this director has appear in many Mexican films, being his performance in "La Ley De Herodes" the one that I remember the most. Also a f*cking Bichir is here, the brother of Javier Bardem, Screamin Jay Hawkins and Miguel Galvan, a very well-know comedian in Mexico who recently passed away, as the old friend of Romeo with only one arm.Conclusion: As I write before, those scenes of Romeo's rituals like the sex scenes are enough reasons to say that this film is not for everybody. For my money this picture is another gem of De la Iglesia that ranks along with "El Dia De la Bestia" in my favourites of him. I do recommend this film to anyone but mostly to people who like the similar films "Wild at Heart" (David Lynch,1990) and "Natural Born Killers" (Oliver Stone,1994). I know there are many fans of those films so check this film. 2 hours of a sick love story that after all is a sick and hilarious trip to the border.

fedor8 A movie obviously molded after "Natural Born Killers" and "From Dusk Till Dawn". There was an attempt to give it the attitude of the former and the unpredictability, "comedy" (and kidnapping + "road-movieness") of the latter. However, "NBK" was done with flair and a superior visual style, plus it was surreal so most of its shortcomings could be forgiven. "FDTD" is much weaker than "NBK", but "PD" makes it seem like "Remains Of The Day".It's obvious from the first scenes that there is going to be mayhem and chaos. However, what wasn't to be expected at all was that the title character would almost completely change her personality in the second half; they started her off as a deranged, grinning psychopath with evil to spare, and by the end of the movie she was a sobbing wreck!!!? Her "gradual" progression from psycho-bitch-from-hell to woman-in-love is one of the worst (i.e. best) cases of bad characterization in movies that I've ever seen.It is clear from the start that while Bardem is a merry lunatic, she personifies evil, and is much worse than him. Anyhow, both of them are lunatics. At the outset. But later on, they actually even develop some sort of bond with the kidnapees; while Perez talks about love with Graham (albeit reluctantly), Cross confides to Bardem the way he would to his closest friend. Evidently, the goings-on concerning the kidnapees are meant as comic relief, but it's neither funny nor logical. It isn't logical how Perez and Bardem took the two kidnapees with them after being attacked and interrupted at the sacrificial ceremony. But this is an example of a forced plot-device; the scriptwriter decided that the kidnapees must fulfill their comic purpose throughout so he saw to it that they get dragged along by Perez and Bardem everywhere, when it made sense and when it didn't.The way Graham handles that situation with the gun is hopeless; instead of killing both kidnappers, she has a discussion with Perez, then hands the gun over to her! That was neither funny nor smart nor interesting nor anything; it was just plain idiotic. Generally, the behaviour of the kidnapees was totally absurd a lot of the time. And how about beating a joke to death? First a car hits Gandolfini and this may have been funny to some, but later the same gag is used on Graham's father. Dumb.Overall, I get the strong impression that this movie wasn't much more than a self-indulgence vehicle for the director and its male star.I'm sure this film has many fans, but then again why not? If John Woo, Gus van Sant, and Tom Cruise can have fans

JoeKarlosi A wild Spanish roller coaster ride of a film has Rosie Perez and witch doctor Javier Bardem as two lovers on the run, kidnapping a couple of very irritating teenagers with an idea of using them in some bizarre sacrificial ceremony (these kids were so hateful, I couldn't wait). All of this feels kind of familiar, and it bounces all over the place. However, seeing Rosie Perez undertaking the part of a skanky slut is probably the best use I've seen her put to so far, and I must admit that Bardem is very powerful and charismatic in what is otherwise a pretty messed up film.*1/2 out of ****

ant-78 Following the success of El Dia De Bestia and Accion mutante, once again the director pursues the nature of dark obsession. The two main leads are dysfunctional amoral sadists who re in some ways rediscovering a part of them that they miss - love. It's a story of trying to move on but the main characters are very amoral however there's darker circles than them, which pulls them further down the spiral. In essence this movie is an antithesis of a glamour Mafia movie and I believe represents Mafia dealings in a very dark fashion. In some ways I believe there's a nod to David Lynch with the actor playing the Mafia boss.The film is not a sick puppy nor is it banal. For those that have followed this director they will read between the lines to discover some salient points of US government intervention out of the states and human traffic - in this case embryos used for beauty products. Like 'clean Madrid' in El Dia de Bestia there were fascist movements in the capital at the time. Iglaisia puts this on the screen as a cultural reminder.Watching this movie at face value will seem very ultra violent and in some places extremely disturbing. Unlike other cult producers like Tarintino Iglasia uses a loot of cult cultural references to make his films extremely dark and funny (like La Communidad). If you're Latin or Spanish I feel there would be a lot more in this movie for you. Recommended viewing - but not for the faint hearted.