Captain Pantoja and the Special Services

The Peruvian army is sick of reporting about violations committed by the soldiers that are detached in the Amazonian jungle. But they have a solution: they'll ask his most straight and serious officer (Captain Pantaleon) to gather together an army of prostitutes that satisfy the necessities of the soldiers. After a few days the captain will fall in love with one of the girls: Olga (Angie Cepeda).

A nice story written by Vargas Llosa, with the exquisite language of the Peruvian writer and with Angie Cepeda, a girl that's not the best actress ever but she's been blessed with a awesome body and a superhuman beauty. She's a piece of art in herself.

Some times is funny, some times is dramatic, and so sensual.. Maybe is too long but its length is reasonable after all.

*My rate: 7/10

I have seen this movie twice; once in Peru, and the second time in Miami last june. This is an excellent film that has recently been released in major cities like Los Angeles and Chicago. This movie tells the story of Captain Pantoja a very correct and loyal member of the Peruvian army. He is sent to Iquitos, where he is assigned a secret mission; to take care of all the horny servicemen by creating a service of prostitution that will put a stop to all the undesired pregnancies that seem to plague the region. The cast is excellent, and the acting of Salvador Del Solar and the rest of the cast is nothing less of sincere and outstanding. The eroticism may not go well with American critics, but fans of foreign cinema will love this flick. Francisco Lombardi is by far one of the best Latin American directors, sadly Americans seem to care very little for movies that won't appeal to the masses.

A marvelous combination of story, direction and acting! The director, Francisco J. Lombardi, has apparently never directed a bad, or even mediocre movie - The author of the original story, Mario Vargas llosa, is widely acclaimed, and appropriately so.

The casting is superb - no one will ever forget Angie Cepeda, as Columbiana - and Pochita ( Monica Sanchez ) can get mad as good as any actress to ever grace the Big Screen.

Aristoteles Picho is perfect as "El Sinchi."

The dialogue is extremely well done, judging from the English sub-titles. I assume the spoken Spanish is equally outstanding.

Although a highly entertaining comedy, it appropriately reflects an underlying message regarding morality, the military and politics for those who care to observe and reflect.

An essential addition to almost any DVD collection ( It is rated "R," but I would not call it a "hard" "R." )

This movie is based on a book by the famous latin writer Mario Vargas Llosa. The movie is set in Peru, where a very self-disciplined militar man (Pantaleon Pantoja) is ordered to go to a jungle town and set up a service of prostitutes for all the militar men from Peru. The movie is very faithful to the original book, and the presence of the actress angie cepeda as "the colombiana" is very striking, she looks superb in the role of the prostitute who falls in love with Pantaleon. I recommend this movie, its worth the time, specially if you dont have much free time to read the original book. I give it a 8 out of 10

I read the book about 1988 and saw most of the movie on TV in Lima in June 2002. The movie captured the spirit of the book very well.

I worked as a civilian employee in a military agency for 30 years. Never during my career did I encounter an officer who was as dedicated and competent as Pantaleon Pantojas. That was the striking feature in the book and in the movie, as well.

Although Iquitos, the city on the Amazon where much of the movie was filmed, is much larger than what is shown in the movie, some elements of the life on the river are reflected in the film.

Can anyone tell me where I can purchase a VHS copy of the movie?

Hugh