★★★
Mexican legend Pedro Infante receives another opportunity on earth to redeem himself for his forays with women and earn heaven in the body of an imitator.
Classification: 12
A quirky, humorous and just flat out weird what if fairytale about Mexican icon actor and singer Pedro Infante being reincarnated into our modern times as an indebted womaniser by a pair of angels who want Infante to learn and repent for his womanising ways. The premise of Como caído del cielo is strange no matter your knowledge of Infante's life, for me, I had no idea he was a real guy until the film ended but basically to the uninformed Infante is basically the Mexican Elvis. Anyway, after 60 years in limbo unable to go to hell due to his beloved films and songs but unable to go to heaven for his hedonism and adultery, Infante is placed into the life of Pedro Guadalupe Ramos, a womanizer who is also a Pedro Infante impersonator. It's easier to have Infante is put back into the body of someone who likes like him so Omar Chapparo can play both parts. While back on earth Infante attempts to seduce and win the heart of Ramos' wife Raquel, reconnect with his granddaughter who has no idea of his true identity, stave off death threats from the mayor of Tijuana, pay off his medical debts, deal with several love triangles and prove himself worthy of heavenly salvation. It's a lot.
There are a lot of plot threads and somehow director and co-writer José Pepe Bojórquez is able to have satisfying payoffs for most of them in the most peculiar roundabout ways. The film is stupid but sweet and the sincerity of Omar Chapparo's performance as the two Pedros really helps sell a lot of the ridiculous logic to the plot. Infante is given a week to fix Ramos' life but the film never captures any tension from this time limit nor explores the consequences of Infante breaking the rules of his reincarnation. Infante moves from place to place, taking on new jobs, singing as an impersonator, working as a dishwasher, Tv talent shows and for some reason the climax of the film has him proving himself through a boxing match rather than singing. I guess to show the physical stress of Infante's journey but, strangely, that his triumphant moment comes from a skill that had no setup rather than his defining features. Bojórquez just has Chapparo bounce from place to place and while everything maintains the strange baffling tone, Como caído del cielo has too many strands going on at once, making the pacing of the whole adventure a little mind-numbing.
Chapparo does hold it all together but even he struggles to sell some of the logic such as the plot strand where Infante in Ramos' body forms a friendship with his granddaughter Jenny, it makes sense that Infante would seek and want to make amends to his own family but out of context everything about the character's actions screams stalker. Infante meets his granddaughter at a competition of impersonators where he wins second place, he then tracks her down to her university, then to her place of work, encounters her in an alleyway in the dark, hands her a photo of the two of them then begins working at the same restaurant where Jenny works. Not once do alarm bells go off for anyone at how strange this behaviour is and the fantastical tone can't justify these drops in rationale. Infante's relationships with Raquel and Jenny are clear representations of him changing his womanizing ways and fixing mistakes from both Pedro's lives but the film also doesn't address the existential horror of its own premise. If Infante is in Ramos' body, what happened to Ramos? Has his soul been condemned to Hell? Why is Infante being given the chance to fix a different man's life rather than the chance be given to the man himself? Ramos wasn't dead he was just in a coma, did the angels kill him so they could give a vessel to Infante? It's really dark when you begin to think about it which is why Bojórquez bombards the film with raunchy comedy, musical numbers, and surprising emotion.
While I was not aware of Pedro Infante's actual cultural impact, the imagery and iconography of Como caído del cielo still felt familiar. Infante was one of the inspirations for the character of Ernesto de la Cruz from the Pixar animated film Coco, although Infante was not as nefarious as that character. Coco was far more creative with its interpretation of the afterlife but Bojórquez's film still has a little flair of Mexican musical culture although I am completely uninformed to most of this history. The musical elements are fun, Chapparo has the charisma to carry the film, serenading Raquel, entertaining crowds and spreading joy through music. Bojórquez and Chapparo want to spread that same optimism that the real Infante inspired and while their film doesn't capture any sense of realism it's still enjoyable to watch. Ana Claudia Talancón and Stephanie Cayo as Pedro's love interests Raquel and Samantha have fun chemistry with Chapparo and the audience can get invested in the love stories because of the fun quirks in each character. There is a genuine emotion grounding all this absurdity and even with all the liberties taken about Infante it still has a stirring effect especially in the equally farcical yet surprisingly emotional finale.
There are so many odd choices in story and characterisation but the success of its overall presentation is down to the cast having fun in all the odd sequences the film has to offer. Nothing particularly original about any of this but Bojórquez obviously wants to honour this legend but also allows his script to address the more old fashioned history to him especially in the new waves of modern feminism. Infante in the context of the film does see the error of his ways through both Pedro's actions in the pain of Raquel, Jenny and Samantha, a lot of it is played for comedy but Infante is always presented as the one in the wrong and the one responsible. Whether or not Infante was actually a womanising adulterer is never made explicitly clear by the film but the character the audience follows in the film does present a sweet message about the betterment of one's self. Alongside the ridiculous elements and fantasy to it all, taking Como caído del cielo seriously from a biographical perspective is not something that would be advised.
It's strange, whimsical, romantic and stupid all at once but still undeniably sweet as Bojórquez's film takes what could be a very cheesy, hackneyed premise and gives it a little soul of its own.
Director: #JoséPepeBojórquez
Release Date: December 24th 2019
Available exclusively on Netflix
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
Comments