EL CRIMEN PERFECTO
R, 105 minutes

If you’ve got an uncontrollable urge to see a new Alfred Hitchcock movie, then get over to the Hitchcock-lite “El Crimen Perfecto” by Pedro Almodovar protege Alex de la Iglesia. Mr. de la Iglesia describes himself as “too frivolous for the Europeans and too weird for the Americans,” which is just about right.

“El Crimen Perfecto” (known in English as both “Ferpect Crime” and “Perfect Crime”) chronicles the bloody workplace struggles of Rafael (Guillermo Toledo), manager of ladies’ wear at an enormous Madrid department store that harbors more behind-the-scenes intrigue than the Shogun’s court. Rafael’s life is perfect, his hair is perfect, his clothes are perfect, and once he’s promoted to floor manager, the universe itself will be perfect. But the toupee-wearing Don Antonio (Luis Varela), who works in the accursed menswear department, scores the promotion instead, and Rafael winds up with a dead body on his hands. The story pours forth in a series of stop-on-a-dime plot reversals and grisly twists, all given a glossy coat of Eurotrash style: The men have gel in their hair, the women have silicone in their chest, and everyone has a cigarette in their mouth.

The label “Hitchcock-lite” isn’t meant as an insult: “El Crimen Perfecto” has Hitchcock’s sense of formal composition, a clockwork plot, and plenty of how’s-he-gonna-get-out-of-that-one? suspense. The only thing that’s missing is the arsenal of personal fetishes that Hitchcock brought to all of his movies. What remains is a black comedy that offers the cathartic experience, for once in a motion picture, of the ugly and the stupid giving the slick and the sexy a run for their money.

-Grady Hendrix

FORMULA 17
unrated, 92 minutes

“Formula 17” is as slight, breezy, uncomplicated, and appealing as cotton candy. It’s a straightforward romance, except there’s nothing straight about it: Every character on-screen is a cute, gay Taiwanese boy.

Chou Tien-Tsai (Tony Yang) comes from the suburbs to Taipei with nothing more than a little red suitcase and a face full of good looks. He’s such a hick that he hasn’t even picked out an English name yet and believes in romance before sex. He’s hopelessly lost in a sea of Kevins, Richards, and Raymonds relentlessly cruising one another. After moving in with his old friend, Yu (a weirdly funny King Chin who adopts the mannerisms of a wet chicken), he becomes the target of the local playboy, Bai Tieh-Nan (Duncan Chow). Bai can’t let himself fall in love – we find out why during several hilariously melodramatic flashbacks – but eventually he and Chou sleep together, have a misunderstanding, and reconcile.

There’s not a lot of depth here behind the power pop soundtrack, snappy visual sense, and charming young actors, but that didn’t stop director Chen Yin-Jung’s flick from being the top-grossing Taiwanese film of 2004. Though Taiwan is home to the renowned art-house directors Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Edward Yang, and Tsai Ming-Liang, there are fewer than 15 Taiwanese films produced each year, and the industry is a train wreck. “Formula 17,” however, has proved to be a bright ray of gay sunshine.

-Grady Hendrix

THIS DIVIDED STATE
unrated, 88 minutes

Steven Greenstreet’s documentary “This Divided State” covers the chaos that erupted when students at Utah Valley State College invited Michael Moore to speak at their school two weeks before the 2004 presidential election. The president of the student body, Jim Bassi, and his vice president, Joe Vogel, responded by inviting Sean Hannity to speak a few days before Mr. Moore. A great deal of students attempted to block Mr. Moore’s speech, but a surprising number of Mormon Republicans stood up for Mr. Moore’s right to speak, and the event proceeded.

Funnily enough, what “This Divided State” shows us of Mr. Hannity and Mr. Moore’s speeches is not particularly compelling – there’s not much we haven’t heard before. But Mr. Greenstreet does an excellent job of allowing events to unfold naturally instead of provoking them. He follows a slew of peripheral subjects – one student is a dead ringer for Mr. Moore, and finds himself getting booed by confused students – that allow the film to focus on the divided community at large, and not just on this one incident.

Docuphiles on a budget may feel it’s wise to wait the 40 days until “This Divided State” is released on DVD; those who live and die with the theatrical experience, however, will find a genuinely solid documentary opening today at the Quad Theater.

-Edward Goldberger