User reviews

The best Mexican cinema has its roots firmly planted in popular genres… "Deep Crimson" is a crime film, based on the real exploits of the so-called Lonely Hearts Club killers in the post-war United States…

Nicolás and Colar are a grotesque version of Bonnie and Clyde, who rob not banks but vulnerable rich women…Nicolás is a middle-aged man of abundant charm with an unconvincing wig, who appeals to the snobbery of elderly widows by his ability to pose as a Spaniard, affecting the accent and mannerisms of the expatriate… Coral is an overweight single mother who drives her children and takes off with Nicolás, pushing him from robbery to murder…

Though money is the apparent motive, Coral is addicted to romance, as we see in the first shot of her bedroom, stuffed with cheap but gaudy clothes, Mills & Boon-type novels, and photographs of film stars… The killings the pairs commit are dictated by Coral's passion for Nicolás… He seduces women in order to steal them, and this incurs Coral's murderous jealousy…

Arturo Ripstein's film is essentially a study of thwarted passion turning repugnant… Coral is vicious, even to the extent of killing a young girl who has witnessed her mother's murder… Yet her gesture of offering her own hair to make Nicolás a new wig is at once tender and ridiculous

The plot has been commented by other viewers, so let's move on. I saw this movie when it came out in theaters and loved it, especially the development of the plot (based on the same true events portrayed in Leonard Kastle's cult classic "The Honeymoon Killers") and the way Ripstein expertly evolves from black humor to suspense to bloody tragedy. I also loved the bolero-like title (say it in Spanish -Profundo Carmesí- beauuutiful), the choice of colors (thick greens, reds, blacks and browns), the set decoration, the actors, the all-imposing Catholic symbols and Catholic guilt which are so present in Latin American cultures...

So I thought it was a film about SICK love and misleading appearances, how harmless-looking people can hide sick violent personalities that may ignite under certain circumstances, never to return to what they were before.

A few years later, I happened to see an interview with Ripstein about this film, which urged me to see it again. He said it was a film about the dangers of romantic passion, tout court -- in the sense that passionate love is just one step away from isolation from society's values and conventions - and I thought "yes, this makes sense!". "Profundo..." is (also) about the pathological potential of any passionate love: the anti-social, selfish, self-consuming and potentially destructive behavior a love affair can trigger, to the risk of excluding friends, family and professional life from the lovers' agenda, and when nothing really matters except each other, their plans and their being together against all odds or reasons. Coral's behavior, dumping her children, lying, stealing, killing, marching on regardless of everyone else's feelings or actual physical integrity is a depiction of a sick personality...or is just a step or two further than the average person "madly" in love??

"Profundo Carmesí" is great, but do I have to mention not to expect anything uplifting? My vote: a good 8 out of 10, just don't see it if you've been recently dumped by your lover/husband/wife; it might give you bad ideas!!

Smooth-tongued Nicolas and over-sized Coral meet through a sexy advertisement in the personal columns. Coral who adores Charles Boyer clings to Nicolas as the next best thing. They form a partnership and decide on a plan - to seduce rich women and make off with their money and valuables. It looks all too easy.The plan works well until Coral believes he might be over-doing the seductions and falling for the ladies. It really seems we are in for a good comedy. Nicolas is having trouble with his hairpiece and Coral really does have a weight problem.I guess the comic situations do accent the drama which is to follow. The frivolous dialogue starts to become more serious, especially when one of the victims informs them she has become pregnant. Because many of the homes visited are isolated in desert areas of Mexico, it would seem easy to dispose of a human being should that person be involved in some kind of accident.With cold determination Nicolas and Coral become involved in a new plan - one of murder. At this point we grip our seats and anticipate the worst for the unwary victim. The atmosphere is tense, no help is at hand and the murderers carry out their horrible plan. The ending I think is rather abrupt (some scenes have been edited out, perhaps) but it makes the point that crime does not pay. I have seen many road movies, but this one, I must confess, is the bloodiest of them all.

Coral Fabre is a troubled chubby middle-aged nurse and a single mom to two kids. She has a fling with charming Nicolás Estrella. She continues pursuing him despite him stealing money from her. She abandons her kids to follow him in a crime spree across the country. She pretends to be his sister while he dates older lonely women. Their crimes escalate leaving a trail of broken hearts.

This is a Mexican film similar to the American film The Honeymoon Killers which dramatizes the story of "Lonely Hearts Killers", the true crime partners Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck. The style is stripped down and minimal. These two are solid actors delivering compelling performances. Oddly for me, the most emotional scene is when she abandons her kids. These are troubled souls. She is possibly the more troubling of the two.

Deep Crimson-Arturo Ripstein This is an absolute gem of a retelling of the famous TRUE "Lonely Heart's Club Killers". Originally made as the "Honeymoon Killers", this Mexican version is totally representative of the true story. An obese nurse connects up with a con artist, who is stealing from rich widows, using a newspaper lonely hearts club source. Soon, after the nurse goes nutzoid over this creep, she gives up her children, and joins him in ripping off and killing available divorcée's and widows. The original film is a favorite of mine, as it is extremely gruesome, but carries a black comedy edge the first 2/3 of the film, and then it gets extremely nasty. As in the original, the psycho couple must deal with a Mother and her Child, and it is depicted here pretty well, but not as gruesome as the original. Nevertheless, this version pulls no punches, and in the end, goes way way beyond the original. This was considered very very shocking stuff in the original "Honeymoon Killers", and the ending of this one is totally stunning. This Mexican version is almost as good, if not better than the original. The extremely disturbing story, which is true, is superbly well made in this version. If you see this version for the first time, you will want to see "Honeymoon Killers", and if you already know "Honeymoon Killers", then "Profundo Carmesí" is a rare treat. I can't recommend this movie any higher, with the exception of "The Honeymoon Killers". Take your pick, they are both gruesome, and disgusting as hell. The edge is, this actually happened.

Viewed the film for the first time last night. I was familiar with the Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck 'Lonely Hearts Club' murders for years. I had no idea it was turned into a film adaptation. I thought the film was done extremely well. It's disheartening to see two people who seem so insecure go to these lengths to feel they are loved by someone, seemingly anyone. Nicolas who seems to be in total control at the start of the movie, looses the ball.. and Coral, runs with it. He is a confidence trickster who has finally has met his match in Coral, she is just what he was so in need of, a woman who is willing to do anything it takes to be with him. This giving him a boost in his waning self confidence. Leaving her two young children at a doorstep of an orphanage, because he can't be bothered with them, was all she needed to prove her loyalty to him. They begin to portray themselves as brother and sister, in a scam across the countryside to take advantage of widows/lonely women on their own. This starts to go painfully wrong from the beginning. Coral agrees to not be jealous of Nicolas' affections/pursuits toward the women he is out to scam, after all, it's just part of the act. It seems a harder task for her than she assumed it would be. They manage to stay calm and in control all the way through this. The most bizarre thing about this film,is that it really did happen. As, I mentioned it was loosely based on the aforementioned murders. Although mainly a fictional work, some of the mechanics, were there. The strong need in some for submission from another. The longing for a loyal lover, romance and excitement. This remarkable blend of dark lust and true crime won't disappoint.

"Deep Crimson", a subtitled Mexican film, tells of a man who uses his hair-piece, good looks, and charm to bilk mature women out of their money. When he woos a very large and homely woman longing to be loved, she divests herself of her children, insinuates herself into his life, and goes off scamming with him while pretending be his sister. The backbone of the story is the strange symbiosis which develops between the partner/lover duo as we watch their relationship grow deeper and their scheming more nefarious. A moderately entertaining though schizophrenic film, "Deep Crimson" is too much of a comedy to be taken seriously and too much of a drama to be funny. The result is a marginally engaging film which will play best to those with a taste for black comedies from south of the border. (B)

If you haven't seen The Honeymoon Killers (1970), I feel it should be recommended to watch that before Deep Crimson. Its not necessary of course but one might appreciate both films a little more when the original is experienced first, generally speaking. I also think Deep Crimson is a tad better than the 1970 original, but they're pretty close and each has its pros over the other depending on your perspective. Without mentioning the plot details, I'll focus on style first. Honeymoon Killers was shot in black and white while giving off an almost amateur film/documentary vibe which gives it a gritty edge. It also seemed to mostly be shot in small interior spaces, giving a claustrophobic feel.

Crimson might have a more typical feel throughout the first three quarters, but its still beautifully shot, especially the fourth act which takes advantage of wide open spaces. My memory might have failed me but I think Deep Crimson did a better job with the psychological aspects of the characters. Both films are dark in subject but Crimson left me with a depressed feeling, like I shouldn't have seen what I just saw.

Arturo Ripstein's "Deep Crimson" is based on the same Lonely Heart Killers case that inspired "The Honeymoon Killers". Regina Orozco is riveting as the unattractive and fundamentally unlikeable nurse who abandons her children to take up with Daniel Giménez Cacho's pathetic, balding gigolo. They answer letters from lonely widows with the intention of robbing them, but jealousy and general incompetence lead them into a string of murders. Despite the sordid and depressing subject matter, the film has a distinct satirical edge and is often quite funny. Highly recommended, especially for fans of the earlier film.

This is a remake of the Honeymoon Killers from 1969. Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck were a couple who were a perfectly matched couple. They met through a lonely hearts club and it was kismet. Ray was able to seduce lonely older women and brought along Martha posing as his sister. The American version is better, with a Smiling young Tony LoBianco as Ray and Shirley Stoler as Martha. The Mexican version also features fine actors and it is a decent remake. The true story is amazing and viewers should read it before seeing the films based on the tale. Deep Crimson has a made up ending, but it works anyway. The true story ended in my childhood hometown of Ossining NY. I do recommend it to fellow true crime aficionados.

Mexican director Arturo Ripstein delivers one good drama after the other, and in so doing shows us ever changing aspects of this surprisingly rich country, so unfairly characterized around the world by cliched stereotypes. Though this crime drama doesn't help Mexico's image as a crime-ridden country throughout its history, it does tell a compelling story, free of cliches, of obsessed love driven to serial killings in an unusual road movie. This description, though long, sums up PROFUNDO CARMESI. Ripstein's direction is enhanced by the dramatic presence of Spain's Marisa Paredes in a crucial role. A must for those interested in contemporary Latin American cinema.

Make no mistake that this movie is extremely well made. The production is tight. The direction and cinematography are excellent. The acting is good. The film score is spot on. The script feels eerily accurate.

However, when a child is actually involved in a scene of horror and not just witnessing it through the magic of cutaways and editing, it borders on inappropriate. But this film decides to "go there". Other than that, it's a fascinating look into the behavior of psychotics.

The story is lifted from true events, and I do mean lifted. This is fiction, folks. You can draw all the parallels you want to what actually happened, but it will always, always fall short of the truth.

Not for those who don't enjoy how far the depth of black comedy goes.

Certainly a well made film, but just not for me. It's a dramatization of the real-life 'Lonely Hearts Killers' from America in the 1940's, a pair of predators who murdered a string of women looking for romance, and in one case, a child. While the film offers up some of the dark, twisted psychology of these people and they are rendered pretty well by Regina Orozco and Daniel Giménez Cacho, I couldn't help but wonder why this story was so important to tell, or if it offered up anything more profound than their sadism. It's dreary, dark stuff, and it wasn't very enjoyable to sit through.

I wasn't a fan of director Arturo Ripstein zeroing in on the obese woman's gluttony early on, showing her unable to stop herself from licking a knife, and in general emphasizing her unattractiveness, e.g. By giving her bad body odor. That just seemed to play on stereotypes, but perhaps the point of it was to show that between these two lowlifes, they pretty much had all of the seven deadly sins covered. We see pride (him), greed (him), lust (both), envy (her), gluttony (her), and wrath (her). The only one missing is sloth, unless you can distort the traditional definition into being lazy in basic empathy towards other people.

Maybe Ripstein was going for a dark and cynical portrayal of the human condition, complete with victims who are too easily duped and policemen without a lot of humanity. The only ray of light is a self-avowed atheist and anarchist who sees through the grifters and points out that the last time the Spanish were in Mexico to give aid to the continent, "they left a slew of dead Indians." The film needed more of these moments to balance it out a bit. By the time it came to the murders involving a small child (both as a witness and as a victim), despite those being true to the real-life killers, I just felt it was going for shock value. Regardless of the motivation, it was distasteful to me.

Nice to see something filmed in a country that has rarely been seen in movies, or at least not the parts they show here.

Good character development without the high octane drama and flashy camerawork of Hollywood.

Themes of the movie include needy people and relationships that trap you.

A Mexican film from 1996 about a pair of murderous grifters in the 1940's. When a chubby nurse finally gets a response from her lonely hearts letter, she feels she has found her soulmate (even though she knows he robbed her of her petty cash as he fled the next morning). Dropping off her two young children at an orphanage, the nurse, played by Regina Orozco, teams up w/the would be Lothario, Daniel Gimenez, as they work their wicked cons (posing as brother & sister rather than lovers) on unsuspecting widows (one of which played by Almodovar regular Marisa Parades) w/Orozco usually applying the coupe de grace (Gimenez is a lightweight & suffers from migraines) but as their marks become more unraveled (culminating in their final con involving a young widow & her daughter who run an out of the way garage) w/the final murders particularly off-putting & grisly. According to TCM presenter, Alicia Malone, the final act caused walkouts when the film first screened (which I admit turned me off as well since for the most part the violence & death occur off screen) but there's no denying the film's power emanating from the abhorrent acts of these losers.

Movies have always shown a fascination for these grim, dreary tales with unredeeming, amoral, warped characters at their center (especially if the tales are based on true events), but OUR fascination with such movies is harder to explain and borders on the masochistic. If there is ONE (1) thing to be gained from watching "Deep Crimson", I'm afraid I missed it. Although it's set mostly in the Mexican deserts, the film is rather claustrophobically directed by Arturo Ripstein, who lets several of his scenes drag on too long. (*1/2)

It appears there are several versions of this film. The video which has just been released and which I watched last night, seems to have been edited to shorten it up. I'm sorry to see this because some of the scenes where changed dramatically by the ommissions. I recall the theater version going into more detail on each of the crimes.