Salvando al Soldado Pérez

Before "Saving Private Perez" started, six indistinguishable action film previews reminded me of the repetition that comes with American action films, threaded with a slim MacGuffins. There were also two comedy trailers that had weird premises, and an outlandish over-the-top trailer for "Anonymous," a scary Tim Burtonesqe intensity/darkness and whopping Foley.

Happily "Saving Private Perez" is over-the-top and outlandish,but in a snarky, straight-forward, perhaps satirical, literal way. If this seems contradictory, it is because this film is having it all ways. And that is its pleasure. It is not a mockery, but a tongue in cheek presentation of a Mexican drug lord's quest to save his USA Marine brother held hostage in Iraq (which is somewhere near Saudia Arabia and Holland). His estranged mother had asked drug lord to bring the brother home (alive). Occasionally funny, the film follows this quest seriously.

The drug lord recruits a "Dirty Cinco" and they fly to Turkey and camel into Iraq. Much exaggerated, nothing is driven into the ground (but who can really exaggerate the American action film or one of our recent comedies?). Its exciting moments are balanced with laughs. "Saving Private Perez"'s ancestor is Phillipe DeBroccca's "That Man from Rio," which spoofed the Connery/Bond series, using exotic locations and validating French traits including stubbornness. "Perez" validates the Mexican character and travels as far.

Production values (2.35:1 aspect ratio)are unexpectedly good. Camera work includes appropriate long shots and scenes are staged for widescreen without excessive closeups. It's not a smooth film, but neither is "That Man From Rio"--you have to allow both their quirkiness and rough edges(cuts).

One pleasure of "Private Perez" is the sense of place, whether LA, a hacienda, rural Mexico, Istanbul or an Arabian desert. You enjoy the space which propels the action. Similar to Brazilia in "That Man from Rio" it intrigues without being a travelogue

I haven't seen a desert like this since "Lawrence of Arabia." It is beautiful desolation. At one point, the "heroes," climb out of an oil pipeline, cover themselves in desert dust and remind me of the mole men in "Superman Meets the Molemen." The film offers other references.

"Saving Private Perez" is an interlude from the dispirited manufactured films that clog our previews. With nonchalance, a joke ever so often, an action sequence here and there, it refreshes us.

"Saving Private Perez" is not only the funniest film of the year, but it also features the best ensemble cast. "Saving Private Perez" gets some of Mexico's finest to act. I can best describe this film as Seven Samurai directed by Stephen Chow. It's a story of these seven Mexicans trying to rescue a drug lord's brother. It was insane and funny, but it isn't a parody of American war films it's a parody of drug dealers in Mexico and action films. In fact if it wasn't for the last frame of this film....This could be my favorite film of the year. Coming into the theater I could tell that they thought no one would want to watch this film there was trash all over the floor and the projector wasn't even in. Finally they realized "oh crap there is a crowd here. We better start this soon." I was worried, but this turned out to be the best "movie experience" for me all year. I went into a theater full of Mexicans all ready to laugh. When the first scene happens with these little kids playing with a sling shot you hear a guy a row behind us say "all hard" and I bursted out in laughs. This film does have its touching moments though. The film jumps around from the past to the present so you could see the protagonist's past. You see his life wasn't the easiest. He had to sell drugs in order to get by for his family after his father's death. Saving Private Perez gets all the style points for me as well. It had the best clothes as well as the best music. TOMATOES! (9.0/10)

Spoiler free review: The film portrays some Mexican stereotypes that are usually the popular target of the news, as well as other types of folklore, in a fun way. The movie show us those so-famous-Mexican drug dealers, parodying somehow the film Saving Private Ryan; but instead, they are saving private Perez. The cultural side, the vocabulary, the customs, the music and the garments, make fun of dealers and "narcos" in Sinaloa, Mexico. The good cast of characters (which are mostly known for appearing in Mexican soap operas) assemble a good rescue team that delivers some well distributed good action and funny moments.

About "values": If you are reviewing movies, don't criticize them subjectively, be objective. It's entertainment, values are learned at home.

I saw this movie after his third week at first place in the Mexico's box office, even over all Hollywood releases. Let's not waste more time to say it: "Salvando al soldado Pérez" is a great comedy, spectacular, kitsch, strange, funny, a very different movie that the ones we are used to saw from Mexican cinema. I mean, it happens in Irak!!!! They go to Turkey, the have an adventure, there's no sign of the same loser-goes-loser cliché of so many Mexican movies, no, in "Salvando al soldado Pérez" we mexicans are heroes, are compadres and are very funny adventurers. I had a great time in the theater. I only have one doubt: where the hell is Irak? I love the answer to this that the main character gives to one of his friends in a scene of the movie, jajajajajajajaja

This movie is called by others as a parody of Saving Private Ryan and it is half true but only by argument. This movie es indeed of the search of a soldier called Perez that is captured in Iraq. But this time is not by a unit from the same army, this private is being rescued by a commando of drug dealers leaded by the older brother of the soldier who is one of the main drug lords of Mexico.

This drug lord trying to make amends with his mother offers to rescue his brother that left with US troops to gain a green card. So this man, ignorant as it is believed drug dealers are, assembles a group of commandos with special tactics used to smuggle or protect drugs, so you can imagine how weird these men are. They will help him to travel across Arabian dessert to rescue young Perez. Trough out the journey you'll see many parodies of 80's action movies and the culture of drug dealers in how they talk, act and specially how they dress.

So don't expect the same line of humor US movie's have it is Latinamerican humor which is very different. Still is an enjoyable movie