Las Victimas de Malentendido (1991)
International narcotics enforcer Pepe Luepe (Walljasper) is surveilled by secret agent Nochebuena (Bruch), who expects Pepe to lead her to cartel kingpin «El Jefe».
She never expected to encounter her civilian husband Cicso on such a mission, but it happens later that day, as she is running for her life and Cisco (D. Welander) is having lunch with his brother Mateo (M. Welander).
Meanwhile, an increasingly paranoid El Jefe orders Pepe to kill enemy after enemy.
In this violent tale of innocence and revenge, tragic endings unfold for the characters, from cruel murderer to young child, who are blind to their entwined fates.
English subtitles are available in the Vimeo
player via the “closed captioning” control.
Full Cast and Crew
- Directed by
- Story by
- Screenplay by
Cast
- Joe Walljasper
- Pepe Luepe
- Heidi Bruch
- Nochebuena
- Dave Welander
- Cisco Cesar
- Matt Welander
- Mateo Cesar
- Ben Riepe
- Tio Antonio
- Mike Raymond
- Bobo Balboa
- Lucas Moore
- Eduardo Grimley
- Thomas Welander
- Tomas Cesar
- Jim Kropa
- Napoleon Solo
- Luc Readinger
- homeless man in alley (uncredited)
- Camera Operator
- Special Makeup Effects
- Squib Operator
- Gaffer
- Best Boy
- Editor
- Spanish Language Consultant
- Armorer
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- Dr. Robert Welander
- Craft Services
-
- Bob and Barb Welander
- Audio and Video Equipment provided by
-
- Bud Carruthers, AEA #16
- Dave Brown, MPHS English
- R. G. Conlee, MPJHS Music
- Bob Anderson, MPHS Music
- Mike Moehlman
- Lon Pugh, MPHS Drama
- Cal Litwiller, MPHS Science
- Studio Facilities provided by
-
- Bob and Barb Welander
- Ed and Susie Kropa
Plot Synopsis
SPOILERS: Synopsis includes important plot points.
Alone in a secluded alleyway, Pepe Luepe holds a briefcase, briefly setting it down so he can light a cigarette in the wind.
He is surprised by the sudden appearance of a misguided American tourist carrying a map, who shouts at Pepe for help. He frantically explains his predicament of having become completely lost and desperate. With no response from Pepe, the tourist resigns himself to his fate, and at the end of an exasperated rant in English, seems to make an eerie prediction about Pepe’s fate. Unsettled and doubting his own hearing, Pepe demands the tourist repeat what he said. Yes, Pepe’s hearing had played a trick on him, and the tourist vanishes as Pepe regains his composure.
Moments later, another man enters the alley, also carrying a briefcase. Pepe recognizes Bobo Balboa, whom he’d been waiting to meet. After an exchange of formal pleasantries, they arrange to trade the “dinero” in Bobo’s briefcase for the “narcoticos” in Pepe’s.
A jumpsuited figure lurks unseen nearby, wearing a badge of U.N.C.L.E., the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. He has followed Bobo to the meet and uses a compact spy camera to snap a photograph of Pepe.
Their business complete, Pepe and Bobo part ways. The man from U.N.C.L.E. passes the camera to another spy in the alley, then moves to stealthily tail Pepe, who leads him through a maze of underground passageways, finally arriving a country estate far from the city. Pepe enters the house and goes directly to a dark inner room, where a man stands obscured by billowing cigar smoke. He is «El Jefe» and he knows that Pepe has been followed.
El Jefe instructs Pepe to find his pursuer, and after brifely gloating about foiling U.N.C.L.E.’s plan, they waste no time murdering the agent by shooting him between the eyes. This is so much fun that Jefe and Pepe can’t help but laugh triumphantly, and finally we get to the opening titles.
At a neighborhood retro arcade and taqueria, a young woman enjoys a night out with her husband, who is racking up a new high score at pinball. Across the room, she sees another man enter the dining area: Tio Antonio, the spy who had received the photos in the alley. They see each other, and by subtle signal make their way to the same table. She too is an agent of U.N.C.L.E., known as Nochebuena, and Antonio gives her a new mission: to retrace the first agent’s steps, without getting horribly murdered this time, and bring back the knowledge of El Jefe’s secret location.
Back at her home, as Nochebuena arms herself for dangerous spycraft, her husband Cisco laments that her urgent mission will keep them apart for the weekend of their first wedding anniversary. She suggests that Cicso contact his brother Mateo, from whom Cicso has been estranged since before marrying Nochebuena. As she is leaving, Cisco tells Nochebuena he worries for her safety. She assures him she is capable of completing the mission, and before departing, insists the mission remain undisclosed as U.N.C.L.E. requires.
Cisco telephones Mateo, who angrily asks how the caller got this number. Cisco identifies himself, and Mateo’s mood changes. Happy to receive contact, Mateo tells Cisco he is bored, and invites Cisco to lunch that day. Confused, Cisco says he thought Mateo lived in Cuba, but Mateo explains he also happens to have a home near Cisco, and gives directions.
Elsewhere in the city, another secluded alleyway is extremely similar to the first, and Nochebuena observes the next meeting between Bobo Balboa and Pepe Luepe. Bobo is again unerringly polite, and direct, confessing to Pepe how his customers, determined to obtain their drugs, had siezed them without paying. Consequently, Bobo has no briefcase of money for Pepe, nor any money at all. Pepe bids Bobo adiós, and without hesitation, pulls a massive pistol from his coat and shoots Bobo dead. Pepe then departs, unaware of being tailed by Nochebuena.
Again navigating a maze of obscure corridors, Pepe leads Nochebuena all the way to the same country estate. She reaches the front door as Pepe finds a note from El Jefe saying that their regular meeting must be postponed. Pepe walks upstairs to a room where he sits in meditation. As Nochebuena begins to follow, she hears the doorbell ring and quickly crouches out of sight.
We see it is Cisco ringing the bell, and he is greeted by Mateo and Tomas, Mateo’s young son. Nochebuena does her best to watch, but her view is obscured. Mateo conducts Cisco and Tomas to the dining room where lunch awaits.
Nochebuena explores in the opposite direction, down the hallway where Pepe had gone, and up the stairs. Seeing Pepe sitting alone and no sign of El Jefe, she starts to retreat, but Pepe catches her before she can get away. She fights him, knocking Pepe to the floor and bolting for the stairs, where she pauses to lay a trap, scattering ball bearings from her spy gadgetry onto the steps.
Meanwhile in the dining room, Cisco and Mateo have been catching up about their lives in the years since they’d seen one another. As Mateo describes his international business, Cisco is surprised to see Nochebuena run from the hall toward the front door, where she hesitates, caught off guard by seeing him. She turns and resumes her escape out the front door, entirely unnoticed by Mateo, or apparently by Tomas either. Shortly afterward, there is crash as Pepe tumbles down the stairs. Mateo observes Pepe crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, then politely tells Cisco to immediately depart.
Cisco gets into his car, where Nochebuena has concealed herself in the back seat. She aims her pistol at Cisco, and tells him he has some ’splaining to do. Cisco asks her to keep calm, and she instructs him to drive home while they talk.
In El Jefe’s inner chambers, he has lit up another stogie and asks Pepe the identity of the intruder. Pepe suggests she is another agent of U.N.C.L.E., which Jefe (now revealed to be Mateo) takes to mean that Pepe must track her, find her, and kill her. The two again laugh in delight.
As Nochebuena and Cisco arrive at home, their conversation has escalated into a quarrel, Cisco arguing that Mateo is not El Jefe and does not traffic in narcoticos, Nochebuena pointing out the extraordinary coincidence of Pepe leading her to Mateo’s house. They agree to keep talking, and Cisco tells her he is happy to be reunited on their anniversary.
Later that night as Cisco and Nochebuena sleep, Pepe is in their bedroom, evidently possessed of extraordinary clairvoyance. He is in the process of binding them when Nochebuena wakes and perceives what’s happening. She is able to land some kicks to keep Pepe away, but is hindered by being duct‑taped to Cisco at the wrist. Pepe proceeds to execute his plan, pulling a knife and cutting Nochebuena’s throat as Cisco watches, and then laughing joyously as Cisco wails.
Returning to the neighborhood retro arcade and taqueria, Cisco demands Antonio’s assistance to exact vengeance for Nochebuena’s murder. Cisco tells Antonio he has the knowledge Nochebuena was sent to recover: the secret location of El Jefe.
They arrive at El Jefe’s country estate, armed with guns, but instead of going in guns blazing, Cisco again rings the doorbell. This confuses Mateo and Pepe, who had seen the car speeding up the driveway and were arming against a frontal attack. Mateo sends Pepe to hide in the kitchen and Tomas to answer the door, while he hides himself back in the cigar lounge.
Then the final events of the tragic revenge plot unfold: Tomas pulls a .35 on Cicso, and is killed by a bullet from Antonio’s Luger. Antonio seeks a sandwich in the kitchen and is ambushed by Pepe, where their hand‑to‑hand combat ends with both knocked unconscious. Cisco confronts Mateo, who admits to being El Jefe. Mateo goes on to apologize and tells Cisco he did not know the U.N.C.L.E. agent was his wife, before emptying a revolver into him and laughing at his victory. But as Cisco succumbs to his mortal wounds, he raises his gun and kills Mateo with a single shot to the head.
Of the nine characters, only three remain. Tio Antonio, contented at accomplishing his mission, encounters the confused American tourist from the first scene, who apparently wandered here by accident. Pepe sees the lifeless Mateo and cradles him, sobbing. Pepe’s sobs turn to manic laughter and the credits roll.