Tag: spanish shows

Show Review: Falsa identidad (2018) [pt. 2]

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Oh my gosh, okay, fewer shows have destroyed my heart as much as Falsa identidad. Luis Ernesto Franco has quickly become one of my favourite actors, too – DUDE CAN ACT. Seriously, I have not loved a couple as much Diego and Isabel in a while.

If anyone wants a romantic crime thriller, for sure watch this show!! Has anyone else seen it? If not, you absolutely must. The show’s available on Netflix!

I’m starting Señora Acero now, which stars Luis Ernesto Franco and ¿Quién mató a Sara? star Carolina Miranda. I loved her in that, so seeing them together is awesome! I can’t wait to see how their scenes unfold. It’s so good so far! (I started in season three because the cast swapped out, but it’s not confusing starting here, if anyone’s curious!)

Show Review: Falsa identidad (2018)

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I’m definitely on a Spanish-language show roll this week. [I also recommend Las chicas del cable and ¿Quién mató a Sara? And at some point I’ll write up a review for Vivir sin permiso.] I stumbled across this whopper of a romance-thriller show at random and fell in love after the first episode.

*SPOILER WARNING EPS 1-7*

The series follows Diego, the wayward brother of rising politician Eliseo. Diego is caught on film stealing petrol and Eliseo reluctantly issues a warrant for his arrest. At the same time, Diego is caught on film with the wife of his fiancée’s father, who also happens to be in charge a cartel. (He gets caught, like, a lot in the first ten minutes, goodness. Not a sneaky sneakerson) Gavino, the head of the cartel, makes it his personal vendetta to hunt Diego down. Now on the run for his life, Diego turns to Eliseo, who is still trying to clean up his mess with the petrol and warrant. Everything rapidly changes when Eliseo’s maid’s dear friend Isabel shows up at Eliseo’s house with her two children, fleeing from her abusive husband, Corona. Eliseo quickly devises a plan to get Diego, Isabel and Ricas, her son out the country, with the aim of her daughter joining them in the US once things settle down. (Eliseo can only get three passports.) Unfortunately, it doesn’t go swimmingly. At. All.

This is very much an on-the-run romance, with side plots developing amongst the characters chasing Diego and Isabel and it’s kept me on the edge of my seat every episode!

Something I noticed throughout the episodes is the running commentary on toxic masculinity and misogyny. Fair warning, this show has a lot of rough elements and dark themes. The main guy, Diego, is contrasted by the abusive Corona and his just-as-terrible father Mateo. (THEY ARE BOTH ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE AND THE WORST AND UGH). But Diego is kind, sensitive. He encourages Ricas to face his fears and tells him that real men show emotion. He talks Ricas through everything step by step and supports Isabel at every turn. And you can see how his conversations with Ricas impact Isabel, who is still expecting the worst after being married to Corona for so long. This dynamic is contrasted by the situation Circe, Gavino’s only daughter, is facing. The misogyny of those around her has left Circe largely on her own, with only her close friend and advisor at her side. Then there’s Lourdes, who has been lied to and abused by Mateo. Her storyline breaks my heart and I hope it improves. I have a feeling that she’s going to cross paths with the other characters eventually, though.

I find Circe an interesting character. When Diego cheats on her and she’s ordered by her father to handle it, she can’t and instead turns on her father. (He, like Corona and Mateo, is also THE WORST.) She determines that she’s going to make her own decisions and quickly becomes a power player in the series. Her hawking is super cool, too. Lady’s got style. I want her to rise up and be rid of José for good. He’s her father’s right hand and so awful, ugh. (THE WORST, etc.)

The relationship between Diego and Eliseo is also great. I love close brother dynamics and theirs is wonderful. Very Prison Break, with Eliseo the calm headed, well connected one, and Diego the wild, kind-hearted one. Both are so well meaning and adore each other. The family dynamics that begin almost instantly with Diego, Isabel and Ricas are great, too.

I’m curious to see where the show goes, but there’s 169 episodes, so it’s going to take a while to find out! Has anyone else watched this show? I’d love to know your thoughts!

Show Review: Las chicas del cable (2017)

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I started watching Las chicas del cable after finishing ¿Quién mató a Sara? (which you should all watch, FYI. Season two is a banger!) I wasn’t initially sure what the plot was going to be, but I wasn’t expecting it to draw me in so quickly and now I’m four episodes in and loving it!

*MILD-ISH SPOILERZ FOR EPISODES 1-4*

The plot follows four women in 1920s Spain at a telecommunications company. So basically early telephones, where you tell the operator who you want to speak to. The girls are tasked with being the operators, essentially. When Lidia, aka Alba, arrives at the company with the aim to rob the place in order to settle her debts, she doesn’t intend to find her childhood best friend and beau, Francisco, now a married wealthy man and her new boss. Francisco immediately figures out who Lidia is and determines to help her. THEIR CHEMISTRY IS ON FIRE, YO.

At the same time, Lidia’s new friends Marga, Carlota and Ángeles are all struggling with their own personal problems. Marga is young and timid, and cannot for the life of her pluck up the confidence to face Pablo, a colleague she has a crush on. Carlota is trying to flee her overbearing father who hates the fact that she works and keeps trying to get her fired. And Ángeles is in a terrible marriage with a cheating jerk who is trying to get her to leave her job because he doesn’t want to cease his affair. SO MUCH UGH AT HER HUSBAND.

The women quickly bond, pursing their new found freedoms, helping each other with their troubles, and in some cases exploring their sexualities.

It’s a really well written show, the costumes are fantastic. The music seems quite modern, what with the show taking place in 1928, but it’s not bad music (some good bops, to be honest), it just sometimes feels a little anachronistic in some places. Although I could be totally wrong. I’m excited to see how the political angle of the show develops as well, as there’s hints throughout the first episodes that that’s where it’s going.

My favourite characters so far are Lidia, Francisco, Pablo, Carlota and Marga, but honestly all the characters are well written and portrayed. I feel so bad for Ángeles and I hope she gets some happiness soon. Poor thing. The chemistry between Lidia and Francisco is amazing and they’re my favourite couple so far along with Pablo and Carlota. Not totally sure about Carlos as a character yet, although he’s nice enough.

I thoroughly recommend this show for anyone who enjoys costume dramas and romance-driven narratives (as you can tell, this is my absolute jam).

Show Review: Alguien tiene que morir (2020)

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Set in the gorgeous 1950s Spanish countryside, Alguien tiene que morir or Someone Has to Die, follows the wealthy Falcón family. For anyone that loves Élite, the main actress from that show, Ester Expósito, is also in this one. I seriously adore her! The rest of the cast are amazing in this, too, but it’s great seeing her in more things!

The main storyline follows the Falcón family after the son, Gabino, brings his ballerino friend Lázaro home from México. Unfortunately, his family are less than pleased as they suspect Gabino of being gay and they don’t want Lázaro to spend time with him. Never mind the fact that Gabino is completely in love with Lázaro despite the fact that he’s is engaged to the wealthy Cayetana Aldama, who is none the wiser to Gabino’s sexuality. Sparks also fly amongst others in the area and tensions quickly worsen for everyone involved.

What I really liked about this show was the scenery, the fashion and without question the acting, which was fantastic. All absolutely amazing. It’s beautifully shot and the cinematography is lush. I don’t know as much about Spain’s history as I’d like, so learning about it is fascinating. That said, this isn’t a cheerful or uplifting miniseries by any means. It very much underscores how awful the homophobia was, so bear that in mind as it’s tough to sit through several of the scenes. It’s certainly well worth a watch, but I recommend having something cheerful to put on afterwards!

Show Review: Élite (2018)

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elite.jpg

Ah, Élite. It’s like Skins, but with a murder mystery twist. I actually like it more than Skins, but I could just be forever bitter about Freddie, so that’s neither here nor there.

Anyways, Élite.

 

Élite centres around the students at Las Encinas, a private school filled with rich kids, and the drama that happens when three students on scholarship enter their midst after their school collapses. Issues of wealth, privilege, poverty, power, elitism, religion and sexuality are all central to the plot. 

There’s Samuel, the sweet, smart, quiet boy who falls in love with Marina, a mysterious rich girl; Nadia and her brother Omar, who struggle with family expectation and relationships and dreams at odds with their father’s rules; Christian, who gets involved in a rather, ah, complicated ménage à trois with Polo and Carla; Guzmán, Marina’s brother who’s dating Queen B Lucrecia, but falls for Nadia; and Ander, Guzmán and Polo’s best friend, who starts a relationship with Omar that only intensifies the more involved they get.

And then things get really complicated because someone is dead.

Season one focuses on solving who gets killed with flash-backs and flash-forwards, and the events leading up to the tragedy, while season two deals with the aftermath. Both seasons have their strengths and keep up the tension, mystery and drama. 

It’s a character driven show as much as a mystery and I loved the relationships between the friends and siblings generally more than I cared about the romance. That said, the best couple is and remains Omar and Ander, though I do adore Nadia and Guzmán.

Some of the characters are completely unlikable, but even still you end up caring about them and hoping they grow as people; then there are the characters that are just so sweet you spend the whole show stressed to the max every time someone comes near them.

Overall, Élite is a gripping, intense drama that is definitely worth watching!

Recommended for anyone who likes romantic dramas, murder mysteries, fantastic diversity and intense relationships. I am so excited for season three!

 

**gifs not mine, did not make 🙂