Why is it that all Spanish women seem to hate the hard drinking, fat, womanising, disaster of a chauvinist cop known only as Torrente? For all those reasons no doubt. What is there to love about a figure who spends half his life in puti-clubs, calls his dog Franco, Moroccans ‘Moros‘, and refers to South Americans as a genetic degeneration of the Spanish master race? The reason Torrente is so often disliked is that he is so representative of the worst possible kind of Spanish male.
He’s a medallion wearing, bigoted, lecherous drunk. As a policeman he’s corrupt to the core. But once you accept that, you begin to see the Torrente films as classic works of Spanish cinema, and hilariously funny ones at that. Santaigo Segura, who directs and plays Torrente himself, has managed to perfectly caricature the worst side of backward thinking Spain and Spanish pride.
The second film, Torrente 2, is the finest, largely due to the classic role of Gabino Diego as Torrente’s junkie side kick. Once you accept Torrente for what he is, then a wonderful parody of the deviant side of the Spanish national character is there for the taking.
Kovaks
21 Aug 06 at 9:34 pm
Fantastic and inspirational cinema. Classics.
Edith
22 Aug 06 at 6:57 am
Is he the Spanish version of Archie Bunker?
Tom
22 Aug 06 at 3:58 pm
What brilliant films! The third one is pretty poor, except for the wonderful scene where he wakes up speaking only catalan… and worse, supporting Barí§a!
Edith
22 Aug 06 at 4:50 pm
Says here at Amazon that ‘This movie has all that would be banned in a regular country: nudity, violence and explicit language’. So Spain (and Holland) aren’t ‘regular countries’, LOL!
yolanda
24 Aug 06 at 4:48 pm
I saw this film in another-spain.com, with spanish people, and they realy enjoy, but not me, meaby a don’t understand the film. But i think Torrente is discasting.
Tom
24 Aug 06 at 6:04 pm
Yolanda, he is disgusting… but that’s why he’s funny. He’s a clever device for allowing Spaniards to laugh at the ‘casposo’, nasty men who always seem to hold some sort of minor public office in this country!
Sam Lown
20 May 09 at 2:06 pm
A Spanish guy once told me some 6 years ago now that Torrente is who every Spanish male wants to be like… I’m sure he was exaggerating a little.
Personally, I’d like to re-watch the 1st film again, having now lived in Madrid for several years and with far greater agility in Spanish and knowledge of the local culture its likely to be a lot more “significant”… will prepare for next time I’m de rodriguez
sam