Perdita Durango
Encyclopedia
Perdita Durango, released as Dance with the Devil in the US, is a film directed by Alex de la Iglesia
as a cross between the crime and horror genres. The film is based on Barry Gifford
's novel 59° and Raining: The Story of Perdita Durango. It features a psychotic criminal couple who kidnaps a random teenage couple, and plans to sacrifice them after raping them.
) is a tough, no-nonsense lady clad in a Tura Satana
-style black outfit. She meets Romeo Dolorosa (Javier Bardem
), a maniacal criminal who also happens to be an even more maniacal witch doctor. Romeo robs a bank but risks getting caught in order to force the Bank Teller to strip her shirt and reveal her large breasts. Once in the street, he hides his face from the cops by grabbing and french kiss
ing a random woman on the street. Crossing the border into Mexico
together, Perdita and Romeo become lovers and partners in crime as they kidnap a random Caucasian teenage couple in order to sacrifice them. Along the way they also hijack a truckload of human fetuses and try to evade a determined Drug Enforcement Administration
officer (James Gandolfini
).
Prior to the sacrifice, Perdita mounts tied up Duane on a chair and rapes him under gunpoint. She talks all the way through and makes him reveal through a flashback that his only previous experience was being mounted by a buxom overweight girl. After Perdita is done, she forces Duane to watch as Estelle is being raped on a bed by Romeo, who tries to force an orgasm on her via a cunnilingus
.
Perdita later tells off Romeo for deflowering the victim and thus hurt the sacrifice. They include Duane and Estelle in the vote of who shall get sacrificed. Duane and Estelle blame each other for enjoying their intercourse with their respective captor. Duane and Perdita convince Romeo to choose Estelle. Eventually, a group of people crash in, save Estelle and free Duane. Alas, after a car chase, Duane and Estelle are re-kidnapped.
's movie Wild at Heart
, played by Isabella Rossellini
.
The film is at its most horrific in the scenes where Romeo engages in practices labelled santería, though in reality these have little or nothing to do with Santería
as it is practised in Cuba. In one ritualistic scene, he drenches himself in blood and smothers his face in a bag of cocaine
. He then hacks limbs off a corpse, tears out its heart and writhes around on the ground, channeling multitudes of demons. De La Iglesia contrasts these scenes with gallows humour. Romeo may be a vicious killer but he also loves the music of Herb Alpert
. There is a scene where he and Perdita happily groove to "Spanish Flea
". Gandolfini's character speaks with a weasely lisp and has the misfortune of being repeatedly hit by fast moving vehicles, not unlike a live-action Wile E. Coyote.
Perdita Durango is a curious oddity in De La Iglesia's oeuvre. It is his most overt attempt to crack the North American market (where he has only a small but dedicated following) with his first English-speaking film and a cast of recognizable actors like Rosie Perez, James Gandolfini and Javier Bardem. This alienated his Hispanic fans who felt that he had sold out, while his penchant for graphic sex and violence scared off potential distributors and mainstream audiences in North America, sending the movie direct to video. This film is a blend of genres (crime, horror, comedy, road trip) with an eclectic cast that features his regular favourites (Santiago Segura) and colourful character actors (Screamin' Jay Hawkins
).
.
The film is available in the United States on VHS/DVD in two versions: the edited 115 min. R-rated version and a 121 min. unrated version. Both of these are shorter than the Spanish version.
Álex de la Iglesia
Alejandro "Álex" de la Iglesia Mendoza is a Spanish film director, screenwriter, film producer and former comic book artist.Most of De La Iglesia's films reached cult status due to their weird sense of humour.- Biography :...
as a cross between the crime and horror genres. The film is based on Barry Gifford
Barry Gifford
Barry Gifford is an American author, poet, and screenwriter known for his distinctive mix of American landscapes and film noir- and Beat Generation-influenced literary madness....
's novel 59° and Raining: The Story of Perdita Durango. It features a psychotic criminal couple who kidnaps a random teenage couple, and plans to sacrifice them after raping them.
Plot
Perdita (Rosie PerezRosie Perez
Rosa María "Rosie" Pérez is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, director and community activist.- Early life :...
) is a tough, no-nonsense lady clad in a Tura Satana
Tura Satana
Tura Satana was an American actress and former exotic dancer. She was best known for her role as "Varla" in Russ Meyer's 1965 cult film, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!.-Early life:...
-style black outfit. She meets Romeo Dolorosa (Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem is a Spanish actor. In 2007 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as sociopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, and has also garnered critical acclaim for roles in films such as Jamón, jamón, Carne trémula, Boca a boca, Los...
), a maniacal criminal who also happens to be an even more maniacal witch doctor. Romeo robs a bank but risks getting caught in order to force the Bank Teller to strip her shirt and reveal her large breasts. Once in the street, he hides his face from the cops by grabbing and french kiss
French kiss
A French kiss is a kiss in which one participant's tongue touches the partner's lips or tongue and usually enters his or her mouth. A French kiss is a slow passionate kiss which is usually considered intimate, romantic, erotic or sexual...
ing a random woman on the street. Crossing the border into Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
together, Perdita and Romeo become lovers and partners in crime as they kidnap a random Caucasian teenage couple in order to sacrifice them. Along the way they also hijack a truckload of human fetuses and try to evade a determined Drug Enforcement Administration
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
officer (James Gandolfini
James Gandolfini
James J. Gandolfini, Jr. is an Italian American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia...
).
Prior to the sacrifice, Perdita mounts tied up Duane on a chair and rapes him under gunpoint. She talks all the way through and makes him reveal through a flashback that his only previous experience was being mounted by a buxom overweight girl. After Perdita is done, she forces Duane to watch as Estelle is being raped on a bed by Romeo, who tries to force an orgasm on her via a cunnilingus
Cunnilingus
Cunnilingus is an oral sex act performed on a female. It involves the use by a sex partner of the mouth, lips and tongue to stimulate the female's clitoris, vulva, or vagina...
.
Perdita later tells off Romeo for deflowering the victim and thus hurt the sacrifice. They include Duane and Estelle in the vote of who shall get sacrificed. Duane and Estelle blame each other for enjoying their intercourse with their respective captor. Duane and Perdita convince Romeo to choose Estelle. Eventually, a group of people crash in, save Estelle and free Duane. Alas, after a car chase, Duane and Estelle are re-kidnapped.
Critique
The character of Perdita Durango appeared previously in David LynchDavid Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's movie Wild at Heart
Wild at Heart (film)
Wild at Heart is a 1990 American film written and directed by David Lynch, and based on Barry Gifford's 1989 novel Wild at Heart: The Story of Sailor and Lula. Both the book and the film revolve around Sailor Ripley and Lula Pace Fortune , a young couple from Cape Fear, North Carolina who go on...
, played by Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background and early life:Rossellini is a...
.
The film is at its most horrific in the scenes where Romeo engages in practices labelled santería, though in reality these have little or nothing to do with Santería
Santería
Santería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....
as it is practised in Cuba. In one ritualistic scene, he drenches himself in blood and smothers his face in a bag of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. He then hacks limbs off a corpse, tears out its heart and writhes around on the ground, channeling multitudes of demons. De La Iglesia contrasts these scenes with gallows humour. Romeo may be a vicious killer but he also loves the music of Herb Alpert
Herb Alpert
Herbert "Herb" Alpert is an American musician most associated with the group variously known as Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass, or TJB. He is also a recording industry executive — he is the "A" of A&M Records...
. There is a scene where he and Perdita happily groove to "Spanish Flea
Spanish Flea
"Spanish Flea" is a popular song written by Julius Wechter in the 1960s with lyrics by Cissy Wechter.The song is best known from an instrumental version by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, released as a single and on their 1965 album Going Places, both of which were No.1 hits in America...
". Gandolfini's character speaks with a weasely lisp and has the misfortune of being repeatedly hit by fast moving vehicles, not unlike a live-action Wile E. Coyote.
Perdita Durango is a curious oddity in De La Iglesia's oeuvre. It is his most overt attempt to crack the North American market (where he has only a small but dedicated following) with his first English-speaking film and a cast of recognizable actors like Rosie Perez, James Gandolfini and Javier Bardem. This alienated his Hispanic fans who felt that he had sold out, while his penchant for graphic sex and violence scared off potential distributors and mainstream audiences in North America, sending the movie direct to video. This film is a blend of genres (crime, horror, comedy, road trip) with an eclectic cast that features his regular favourites (Santiago Segura) and colourful character actors (Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Jalacy Hawkins , best known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins was an American musician, singer, and actor...
).
Various versions
The original Spanish version runs 10 minutes longer and features more sex and violence and ends with some characters digitally morphing into the scene finale from Vera CruzVera Cruz (film)
Vera Cruz is a 1954 American Technicolor Western starring Gary Cooper and Burt Lancaster, and featuring Denise Darcel, Sara Montiel, and Cesar Romero. The movie was directed by Robert Aldrich from a story by Borden Chase...
.
The film is available in the United States on VHS/DVD in two versions: the edited 115 min. R-rated version and a 121 min. unrated version. Both of these are shorter than the Spanish version.
Cast
- Rosie PerezRosie PerezRosa María "Rosie" Pérez is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, director and community activist.- Early life :...
as Perdita Durango - Javier BardemJavier BardemJavier Ángel Encinas Bardem is a Spanish actor. In 2007 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as sociopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, and has also garnered critical acclaim for roles in films such as Jamón, jamón, Carne trémula, Boca a boca, Los...
as Romeo Dolorosa - Harley CrossHarley CrossHarley Cross is an American film and television actor. He appeared in the 1980s horror films The Believers and The Fly II; his most recent roles were in the 2004 film Kinsey and in 2000, "Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth". He is also the co-founder of Hint Mint, a candy...
as Duane - Aimee GrahamAimee GrahamAimee Lynn Graham is an American actress, and the younger sister of actress Heather Graham.Graham was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the daughter of Joan, a schoolteacher and noted author of children's books, and James Graham, a retired FBI agent...
as Estelle - James GandolfiniJames GandolfiniJames J. Gandolfini, Jr. is an Italian American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia...
as DEA Agent Willie "Woody" Dumas - Screamin' Jay HawkinsScreamin' Jay HawkinsJalacy Hawkins , best known as Screamin' Jay Hawkins was an American musician, singer, and actor...
as Adolfo - Demián BichirDemián BichirDemián Bichir Nájera is a Mexican actor. Both of his parents, Alejandro Bichir and Maricruz Nájera, and brothers Odiseo and Bruno Bichir are actors. He was married to singer Lisset Gutiérrez.-Career:...
as Catalina - Carlos BardemCarlos BardemCarlos Bardem is a Spanish actor and son of Pilar Bardem and brother of Mónica and Javier Bardem ....
as Reggie San Pedro - Santiago SeguraSantiago SeguraSantiago Segura Silva is a Spanish film actor, screenwriter, producer and director.Santiago was born in the Carabanchel neighbourhood in Madrid. After studying Arts at the Complutense University of Madrid, he decided to pursue a career as a film-maker and in 1989 he directed the short Relatos de...
as Shorty Dee - Harry PorterHarry PorterFor the Fictional character, see Harry Potter.Harry Franklin Porter was a high jumper from the United States of America. He was a member of the Irish American Athletic Club, and won gold in the High Jump in the 1908 Summer Olympics at a mark of 6'3"...
as Ford - Don StroudDon StroudDonald Lee Stroud is an American actor and surfer who appeared in many films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and has starred in over 100 films and 175 television shows to date.-Early life:...
as Santos - Alex CoxAlex CoxAlexander Cox is a British film director, screenwriter, nonfiction author and sometime actor, notable for his idiosyncratic style and approach to scripts...
as Doyle - Miguel GalvánMiguel GalvánMiguel Eduardo Galván Meza was a Mexican comedian and actor, known for his appearances on TV shows like La Parodia and La Hora Pico.He died due to a respiratory arrest in a hospital.-Biography:...
as Doug - César Rodríguez as Dedo Peralta
- David VillalpandoDavid VillalpandoDavid Villalpando is a Mexican actor. His break out role was in the film El Norte ....
as Skinny - Josefina EchánoveJosefina EchánoveJosefina Echánove is a Mexican actress, model and journalist.Echánove started working as an actress and then later became a journalist.-Biography:...
as Romeo's Grandmother - Miguel IglesiasMiguel IglesiasMiguel Iglesias Pino de Arce was a Peruvian soldier and politician who held the presidency of Peru in 1883-5....
as Danny Mestiza - Katie BarberiKatie BarberiKatie Barberi is a Mexican actress best known for her work in telenovelas.-Early life:Barberi was born in Saltillo, Coahuila, to a Mexican father of Italian descent and an American mother. Because of the nature of the careers of both her parents, Katie Barberi attended many different schools...
as Stewardess