Captain Pantoja and the Special Services | |
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Directed by | Francisco José Lombardi |
Produced by | José Enrique Crousillat |
Written by |
Giovanna Pollarolo Enrique Moncloa Mario Vargas Llosa (novel) |
Music by | Bingen Mendizábal |
Release date
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Running time
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144 minutes 119 minutes (North American release) |
Country | Peru |
Language | Spanish |
Captain Pantoja and the Special Services (Spanish: Pantaleón y las visitadoras) is a 2000 Spanish-Peruvian film co-production directed by Francisco J. Lombardi. It is based on the eponymous comic novel by acclaimed Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa. The film was chosen as Peru's official Best Foreign Language Film submission at the 72nd Academy Awards, but did not manage to receive a nomination.
The plot follows Captain Pantaleón Pantoja, a straightlaced army captain put in charge of creating a brothel for the army, in order to reduce the incidence of rape surrounding army bases and outposts. The first half of the movie focuses on the humor of the situation, as Pantaleon runs the brothel like an efficient branch of the army. The second half is more dramatic as the captain is changed by running the army brothel and focuses on his relationship with the prostitute Olga "the Colombian".