I normally don’t like films with unpleasant protagonists, nor do I like films of the overworked genre about dysfunctional families who are forced to come together. But I make an exception for The Erection of Toribio Bardelli (La erección de Toribio Bardelli).
Toribio Bardelli (Gustavo Bueno) is a grumpy and mean-spirited widower who learns that his late wife cheated on him and is outraged that his three adult children knew about it and didn’t tell him. His children are a challenged bunch.
Eldest daughter Sara (Gisela Ponce de León) has inherited her father’s bad temper. She is blind and unemployed, and her guide dog has just died. She puts the dog in a bag, with the intention of giving him a proper burial. But while her family isn’t paying attention, trash collectors throw the closed bag into their truck.
Son Silvestre (Rodrigo Sánchez Patiño) is an alcoholic would-be actor. His life has been saved by a heart transplant. Despondent, he tracks down the donor’s mother to learn more about him. She tries to console Silvestre, but her husband finally kicks Silvestre out of their lives.
Younger daughter Luz (Michele Abascal) comes closest to being a normal person. She writes for a magazine and is having an affair with the magazine’s married editor. She thinks he appreciates her…until she finds in his trash can a serious, personal piece she has written and given him.
And then there’s their father. As the title implies, Toribio can no longer get an erection and is obsessed with having sex at least one more time. He doesn’t have a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication, so he tricks a pharmacist into leaving the room and steals some of the pills. His children are waiting for him in the car, and he forces them to serve as his get-away crew.
As downbeat as the film seems, at least it has as close to a happy ending as such a family can manage.
The Erection of Toribio Bardelli is written and directed by Adrián Saba, who had previously directed Peru’s 2013 Academy Awards entry, The Cleaner.
