"Based on the book by Jorge Franco Ramos, this is a bloody thriller about a female assassin (Flora Martinez) with a painful past. Rosario seeks her revenge by becoming a a paid killer for the drug cartels operating in Medillin. They say she kisses before she kills, but that doesn't put off the two friends who both fall for her. But as Rosario says, it's harder to love than to kill."
Rosario is brought into a hospital by a distraught Antonio (Unax Ugalde). She has been shot, and the story of their meeting unfolds through flashbacks. Antonio and his friend Emilio (Manolo Cardona) meet her at the Acuarias club, the domain of a drugs cartel. They both fall for her instantly, but it is Emilio, the ladies' man, who takes her home. They soon find themselves in her world, where she and her brother Jonhefe (Rodrigo Oviedo) work for the cartel as hired killers. From then, things can only get worse.

Rosario Tijeras is breathtaking. Pascal Marti's sumptuous cinematography is beautiful, imbibing Medillin with an itchy vibrancy that's in keeping with the heavy drug theme. Of course, being set in '80s Columbia, drug use figures pretty significantly; much as a classical Hollywood character would light a cigarette, these characters snort coke habitually. It's not especially glamourised or villified, but portaryed matter-of-factly as the way things were. The edit may well have been done to reflect the characters' slightly unreal state - Rosario Tijeras is told through flashbacks, double-flashbacks, and even triple flashbacks. Despite this, however, it's easy to follow, even whilst watching subtitles; the script is witty and clever. The pacing too, is fairly well-judged; it didn't drag, and in the many places where the action was absent, it wasn't missed.

The actors seemed custom-made for this film. Martinez is excellent, playing the ruthless and beautiful Rosario's descent into madness and despair. Ugalde is perfectly cast as the fresh-faced innocent (unless you live in Columbia, apparently his accent was awful), and Cardona plays the ladykiller who meets his match wonderfully. Incidentally, Alex Cox, the Liverpudlian director of Sid And Nancy has a small and rather amusing role as a drugs baron.

There were problems. While parts of it were predictable, I found the ending a little mystifying and disappointing (apparently it was changed from the original novel). Scissors are an important motif throughout the film, but there is little cohesion between the explanation and the rest of the story. There are also some scenes which people may not like - Martinez' full frontal nudity might not appeal to everyone (although I doubt it, as she is absolutely stunning), and there was a rather hairy man's backside which may have scarred me for life, even more so than Cardona's rather distracting fringe. I'll also refreain from mentioning what happens with the scissors, suffice to say it was mercifully unseen...

That said, I found it thoroughly enjoyable, and the time certainly passed quickly, despite me needing the bathroom for about two thirds of the two hour running time. Particularly of note is a funeral scene, which for me was one of the highlights - it was hilarious and poignant in equal measure, and definitely how I want to go when the time comes. If I were the sort to recommend films, and I think I am, I would strongly suggest going to see Rosario Tijeras.


see rosariotijeraslapelicula.com for the website and trailer.