First part: Juan Pérez is a mild mannered, gentle, unremarkable, resident of Santiago de Chile working in telemarketing (in Spanish speaking countries "Juan Pérez" denotes "everyman," something like "John Doe" in the US). By sheer chance, he is able to thwart an armed robbery and becomes an instant celebrity, although for a short time. This is the subject of the first twenty minutes of the movie. Not overly original, but there are some good natured laughs here, helped by charismatic actors and the colorful Spanish spoken in Santiago.
Second part: Juan becomes unhinged due to the loss of his celebrity status and begins to stage accidents where people are seriously hurt or worse, and where he appears as a rescuing hero. To make this more acceptable the script provides Juan with a shiner on each eye; together, they combine into a sinister black mask. This half of the movie is not very convincing. In spite of his mask it is difficult to accept Juan as criminal, to cover a stop sign with a plastic bag will probably not produce instantly two cars on a collision course, and nobody, no matter how far gone, would light a joint in a flat where there is a strong smell of gas.
If you are able to integrate these two disparate parts into one, this movie may make sense. I did not for me.
Second part: Juan becomes unhinged due to the loss of his celebrity status and begins to stage accidents where people are seriously hurt or worse, and where he appears as a rescuing hero. To make this more acceptable the script provides Juan with a shiner on each eye; together, they combine into a sinister black mask. This half of the movie is not very convincing. In spite of his mask it is difficult to accept Juan as criminal, to cover a stop sign with a plastic bag will probably not produce instantly two cars on a collision course, and nobody, no matter how far gone, would light a joint in a flat where there is a strong smell of gas.
If you are able to integrate these two disparate parts into one, this movie may make sense. I did not for me.
