★ 1 / 10
A caption at the beginning of Loving Pablo
tmdb28039023
A caption at the beginning of Loving Pablo informs us that “This film is inspired by real events. Some of the characters, names, and events have been…
A caption at the beginning of Loving Pablo informs us that “This film is inspired by real events. Some of the characters, names, and events have been fictionalized for dramatic purposes." What they don't tell us is that even the protagonists’ nationalities and languages have been changed.
Colombians Pablo Escobar and Virginia Vallejo are played by Spanish actors speaking English – or, at the very least, trying to; Javier Bardem's English is atrocious and Penelope Cruz's is abominable, and their Colombian accents are just as bad, if not worse.
To confuse things further, the characters occasionally say some random words or phrases in Spanish. Now, I don't think it's asking too much of the audience to pretend that the characters are speaking Spanish among themselves even as the actors deliver their lines in English; after all Hemingway did something similar in For Whom the Bell Tolls.
But if the characters are supposed to be speaking in their native language, shouldn’t they sound like native speakers? Also, the dialogue should be consistent; i.e., all English all the time – because otherwise, what language are they supposed to be speaking when they say something in Spanish?
This is a Spanish film, about Spanish-speaking characters, written, produced and directed by Spaniards; why they felt the need to tell their story in any other language than that of Cervantes, I haven’t the foggiest. Except, of course, for the obvious reason of appealing to the Anglo-Saxon market, but in this case why go to the trouble of getting Spanish – especially big names like Bardem and Cruz – and Colombians actors, only to force them to recite most of their dialogue in English? If nothing else, they could have at least had the decency not to have Cruz narrate the movie.
Read full review
★ 7 / 10
I want respect
nogodnomasters
Based on the true story of Cartel drug lord Pablo Escobar (Javier Bardem) and his scorned newscaster mistress (Penélope Cruz) who brought him to his end.…
Based on the true story of Cartel drug lord Pablo Escobar (Javier Bardem) and his scorned newscaster mistress (Penélope Cruz) who brought him to his end. That's about it. Great to have lived a life to have Penélope Cruz play your part...not so great to have Javier Bardem play you.
The film starts in 1993 with Virginia being placed in protection and then she tells the story that starts in 1982. She was attracted to Pablo as the "Robin Hood" of Columbia because of all the homes he was building for the poor. It wasn't until there was a body count did she start to care about his business. The one US Interstate scene was a hoot.
Guide: F-word, sex, nudity (Javier Bardem major league butt shot)
Read full review
•••
Thanks FREEMAN, but the audio is in English, not in Spanish though.