Cilantro y perejil

The movie Cilantro y Perejil follows the ups and downs of a relationship among a few couples. However, the entire movie is supposed to be a documentary about relationships which is filmed by the main character's sister, Nora. The aspect of using a character as almost a director was an interesting technique, because we were able to view the story through the eyes of Nora, thus we are able to witness both the good and the bad. This technique also helped the viewer to relate to the characters because we were able to see their desperation to appear "normal" (by begging Nora not to show arguments in the documentary), and normality is a quality everyone seeks in a relationship. The use of the psychiatrist commentary also helped to break up the monotony of the film by adding comic relief and a professional opinion. Plus, it was interesting to see how the children of the main characters Susana and Carlos were affected by their parent's problems, and how, for instance, the daughter often felt abandoned as if her mother was too busy dating to be with her. This also helped the movie move along, as it was nice to take the focus off the main characters every once in a while. However, I must say, that overall the movie is mundane, and seems to go on forever. There was no true climax, and the end was extremely predicable. The main idea of the movie was just too cliché, which made me loose interest and not appreciate the film as much. Overall, it lacked originality.

I didn't have very high expectations when I rented this DVD, but even those expectations were not met. The movie is about a couple that suddenly separates and somehow does not manage life after that. The husband and wife seem to have forgotten how to be independent human beings.

The main topic of the film is relationships, but there is nothing innovative or interesting in the way the story is told. On the downside, the actors deliver poor performances although some of them are actually talented (as they have proved in other movies), and the editing is a disaster. Apart from the main narrative, the movie is constantly interrupted by grainy images of the main characters blabbering some platitudes about relationships and even grainier images of a TV psychologist giving inane advice to his viewers. It is hard to develop interest in the story or the characters, and the low-quality of the aesthetic aspects of the film make it a no-go area. I honestly found this movie unbearable and cannot recommend it to anyone.

Maybe fans of 'fresa' humor will enjoy this. But other than a few sarcastic bits, it is just a lame sitcom with annoying characters who go through boring situations, with a documentary-within-a-movie splitting up episodes. The documentary bits are sometimes interesting, and sometimes just as lame as everything else. This does not fall in the school of daring, cutting-edge, realistic, sarcastic Latin American cinema. Instead it falls in the same group of movies that sound like they were written by the same people who write telenovelas and latino sitcoms, thinking that they are funny, just because somebody in Televisa likes this crap and wants to keep Mexican people ignorant, so that they do not rebel against the governing status quo. Alright, this sounds far too revolutionary and almost makes the movie sound like it had anything to do with politics or social commentary. It is merely a lame sitcom, stretched out.

Not horrible, but not worth your time.

"Cilantro y Perejil" is, in a way, your typical romantic comedy, but it is so in a very Mexican, light, fun and entertaining way, which is rare in cinema from this country. It might be predictable and not-too-bright, but what it lacks in depth, this film compensates in spice, humor and the sense transmitted through the screen that the people who made it actually tried to do a good movie, and enjoyed it. German Dehesa's interventions are delightful, and lower the saccharine factor in the love stories. The stories complement each other nicely, and each of them is represented by the most famous faces in the new Mexican Cinema. It really is worth seeing just as an accomplishment at its time and a precursor of films like "Sexo, Pudor y Lágrimas".

The film "Cilantro y Perejil" falls under the romantic comedy genre. The title of the film suggest the theme of the story so similar but yet so different. This is a comedy about couples and their definition of what love is and the believe that there is that right person just for you. We begin the story with an interview that Susana is having with Nora about what love is and what does a person feel when he or she sees their other half, for a school project that she is putting together. As Susana states all these things about what a person should feel, Nora asks her if she feels that for Carlos her husband. Susana Replies with a no. The story starts to develop when Susana divorces her husband Carlos. After the divorce they try to rebuild their own love life. They date different people through work, friends and a singles club that Nora sights them up for; to find out that they have nothing in common with the people they date. After all of that at the end they realize that they always had what they were looking for.

As the film develops it touches in many social issues throughout the documentary that Nora is filming for her school project or on the film itself. Family life is put to question and the problems that the children face after their parents split up. The complication of love and romance and how globalization has changed it is also one of the issues that are being address in the film. Over all the director did a great job on bringing the different issues together on the film. In combination with the smooth editing and the technique of a film within a film.

Bottom line is a great film to watch