Info
Original Title: Crimen con vista al mar
Country: Colombia, Spain
Director: Gerardo Herrero
Release: 2013
Genre: Thriller
Language: Spanish
26.03.2020: This review was first published on 27.10.2018 and is being updated for a more complete review, together with the publishing of the YouTube Version.
Hello There! I’m dos Santos. Welcome to Ulven Reviews!
Crimen con vista al mar, translation crime with a sea view, is a Colombian-Spanish production directed by Gerardo Herrero. After the disappearance of a young Spanish tourist in a Colombian hotel, the girl’s family hire an eccentric investigator from Madrid to find her.
Crime with a Sea view
Maite Salgado (played by Silma López) and Sonia Torres (played by Úrsula Corberó) are two young Spanish tourists enjoying Cartagena, Colombia, in a Hotel owned by Enrique Zabaleta (Jorge Enrique Abello).
Román (played by Luis Fernando Hoyos) recently out of jail, seeks his old friend, Enrique, to get some money to go on with his life. While staying in the Hotel, he meets Maite and Sonia.
While Román is drinking with the girls around the pool, Juan (played by Juan Pablo Barragán), a soon to be married room attendant, enters his room and steals all the money he got.
After a lot of drinks together, Román and the duo of Spanish tourists go to the room to have a threesome. When Maite realizes Román and Sonia are leaving her aside, she leaves the chamber to find someone else to fuck.
The following morning, Román realizes his money is gone, and since Sonia spent the night with him, the suspicion falls into Maite. When he confronts the girl about it, she denies it. Out of his mind, Román kills her and then asks Enrique to help him get rid of her body.
Worried that Maite didn’t return to Spain when she should, her parents hire a Madrid detective, Inspector José Cabral (played by Carmelo Gómez), to finds her. Three days after her disappearance, the eccentric detective arrives at Cartagena to investigate.
I couldn’t find any International title of the movie in English, but the translation is Crime with a Sea View. Another thing I didn’t locate is the film itself. I watched it originally on Netflix, but it’s no longer available. I looked for it on other platforms but with no success, so If you know where to find it, leave it in the comments section.
Despite being a movie about a detective investigation, it’s far from a whodunnit. There is no mystery because we see who did it while he’s doing it, but it doesn’t mean that the plot is bad, it’s just pretty mediocre.
The trailer of the movie advertises it as a thriller, and everywhere on the internet lists it as such. However, the film felt much more like a comedy, and in this genre, Crimen con vista al mar achieved its goal, providing me with some laughs.
When you advertise the movie as one thing, and the actual film is another, you’ll have problems with the reception. It’s a stupid decision that I think it’s not always in the hands of the filmmakers, but of the studios.
The cast is not very well-know internationally, except Úrsula Corberó, who became famous worldwide after the series Money Heist A.K.A La Casa de Papel. Úrsula was not that famous at the time of Crimen con vista al mar, though, her career began to ascend the following year.
We already reviewed another movie featuring Carmelo Gómez on the channel, The Method, that you can check out in the card above. In Crimen con vista al mar, the actor is even better and has a more prominent role.
In Colombia, Jorge Enrique Abello is a star. He’s a very successful protagonist in Colombian Telenovelas, including Yo soy Betty, la fea (1999-2001), that had adaptation in many countries, including in the US by the title Ugly Betty (2006-2010).
Many people think Telenovelas and soap-operas are the same thing, they’re not. Telenovelas have a previously determined running length, usually months, and it has a beginning, middle, and end. A soap-opera can renew itself perpetually, some running for more than 50 years.
Crimen con vista al mar was Abello’s debut on the big screen, generating a big deal of expectations on the Colombian people. From what I read online, it seems most of the people had their expectations frustrated. On the other hand, I had no expectations, and I thought his performance was quite alright.
Most of the characters are nothing special, they’re kinda just there, I didn’t feel much for anyone. If I needed to point someone, I would say Inspector José Cabral and Mercedes (played by Katherine Vélez), they made a decent duo investigating.
With such bland characters, the acting is pretty decent from everyone. Besides the ones I already talked about, I liked Luis Fernando Hoyos’s performance. I would like to see what he can do with a better character.
Also, shout-out to Julian Diáz, who has a small part in the movie. There’s not much to say about his performance or character, but I just wanted to acknowledge his presence in the film. He’s best known as Blackie in Narcos.
The cinematography and most of the production design are among the best things in the film. The first having great colors, framing, and limpid lighting. The second, a beautiful location that included a beach, and a wardrobe that made sense within its environment.
Now I have to be honest, I don’t remember much about the score, and I don’t have the movie here to refresh my memory. However, I do remember one song, El Preso from Fruko y sus Tesos.
I remember it because it’s a song I enjoyed way before hearing it in the movie, so when they’re having a party, and the song began, it was like “oh shit, I know this one!”.
Crimen con vista al Mar is an average movie. If you don’t take it too seriously and see it as a fun time to relax, it can be enjoyable, but if you want a complex investigation film, look for something else. I’m giving Crimen con vista al Mar 6 Moons.
That’s it for now. Don’t forget to give attention to everyone during the threesome. Bye!
All images used are from Proimágenes Colombia website.
Crítica dos Ratos 