Post by gallito on Nov 15, 2015 16:56:49 GMT -5
Netflix’s Narcos is nothing if not ambitious. With ten hours of largely Spanish-language drama shot almost entirely on location in Colombia, a multinational cast and a Brazilian lead actor, it’s hard to imagine how Narcos ever got greenlit.
But Netflix is famous for taking risks.
Thus we have Narcos. On the one hand, it’s probably the most extensive U.S. production ever filmed in Colombia. On the other, it’s thorn in the side of those who wish the world would finally drop its fixation on Colombia’s cocaine past and acknowledge the country’s massive progress since the Pablo Escobar era.
One of the most pervasive themes in modern Colombian film is a looming, inescapable past.
Indeed it is that progress that allowed Netflix to film in Colombia in the first place. And it is drawing more and more international productions to the country, particular in the wake of a 2012 law granting substantial incentives to film in Colombia.
Colombia deserves a major international production focused not on the nation’s infamous drug industry but rather on its natural beauty, its incredible people, its rich pre- and post-cocaine history or any number of other topics.
But the fact of the matter is that drugs are still a big problem in Colombia.
Even Colombia’s own film industry is rather fixated on the country’s drug-fueled conflict, at least in the background. Well-regarded Colombian films like La Vendedora de Rosas (The Rose Seller), Los Colores de la Montaña (The Colors of the Mountain) and La Virgen de los Sicarios (Our Lady of the Assassins) all deal directly or indirectly with the country’s drug violence.
One of the most pervasive themes in modern Colombian film is a looming, inescapable past colliding with an unpredictable, intimidating future. Protagonists are usually trapped somewhere in between.
It’s a metaphor for the country’s present situation: still plagued by a reputation for drugs and violence, struggling to show the world a better face.
So Narcos probably doesn’t warrant some of the criticism it has received for reviving — and, more problematically, glamorizing — Colombia’s most notorious criminal. But it certainly deserves to be called to task for its shallow, often inaccurate depictions of Colombian culture and life.
The most obvious example is casting Wagner Moura, a Brazilian actor, as Pablo Escobar in a role that requires him to speak Spanish throughout the show. Moura gives it a good shot, but Escobar’s thick Antioquian accent is so distinctive and iconic that it would be tough for anyone but a Paisa to pull it off.
It’s also tough to get a good sense of geography since Narcos often films Bogotá for Medellín. And despite the fact that Bogotá scenes were actually shot in the capital — meaning that the cast and crew knew full well what the chilly, often dreary weather is like — characters walk around in short-sleeved shirts and wipe their brows.
Whether or not you were able to make it all the way through Narcos, here are five other shows, documentaries and movies you can watch on Netflix that depict Colombia’s drug conflict more accurately, or at least with real Colombians.
Sins of my Father (Los Pecados de mi Padre)
We all feel embarrassed by or ashamed of our parents at some point. But none of us has anything on Juan Pablo Escobar – a.k.a. Sebastián Marroquín – who offers an unprecedented intimate look at what it was like to grow up in the center of Colombia’s cocaine trade in this award-winning documentary.
The son of Pablo Escobar currently lives in Buenos Aires under a false name. His story, in his own words, is a powerful reminder of the flesh and blood repercussions of the drug conflict.
thecitypaperbogota.com/culture/five-colombian-alternatives-to-netflixs-narcos/10415
But Netflix is famous for taking risks.
Thus we have Narcos. On the one hand, it’s probably the most extensive U.S. production ever filmed in Colombia. On the other, it’s thorn in the side of those who wish the world would finally drop its fixation on Colombia’s cocaine past and acknowledge the country’s massive progress since the Pablo Escobar era.
One of the most pervasive themes in modern Colombian film is a looming, inescapable past.
Indeed it is that progress that allowed Netflix to film in Colombia in the first place. And it is drawing more and more international productions to the country, particular in the wake of a 2012 law granting substantial incentives to film in Colombia.
Colombia deserves a major international production focused not on the nation’s infamous drug industry but rather on its natural beauty, its incredible people, its rich pre- and post-cocaine history or any number of other topics.
But the fact of the matter is that drugs are still a big problem in Colombia.
Even Colombia’s own film industry is rather fixated on the country’s drug-fueled conflict, at least in the background. Well-regarded Colombian films like La Vendedora de Rosas (The Rose Seller), Los Colores de la Montaña (The Colors of the Mountain) and La Virgen de los Sicarios (Our Lady of the Assassins) all deal directly or indirectly with the country’s drug violence.
One of the most pervasive themes in modern Colombian film is a looming, inescapable past colliding with an unpredictable, intimidating future. Protagonists are usually trapped somewhere in between.
It’s a metaphor for the country’s present situation: still plagued by a reputation for drugs and violence, struggling to show the world a better face.
So Narcos probably doesn’t warrant some of the criticism it has received for reviving — and, more problematically, glamorizing — Colombia’s most notorious criminal. But it certainly deserves to be called to task for its shallow, often inaccurate depictions of Colombian culture and life.
The most obvious example is casting Wagner Moura, a Brazilian actor, as Pablo Escobar in a role that requires him to speak Spanish throughout the show. Moura gives it a good shot, but Escobar’s thick Antioquian accent is so distinctive and iconic that it would be tough for anyone but a Paisa to pull it off.
It’s also tough to get a good sense of geography since Narcos often films Bogotá for Medellín. And despite the fact that Bogotá scenes were actually shot in the capital — meaning that the cast and crew knew full well what the chilly, often dreary weather is like — characters walk around in short-sleeved shirts and wipe their brows.
Whether or not you were able to make it all the way through Narcos, here are five other shows, documentaries and movies you can watch on Netflix that depict Colombia’s drug conflict more accurately, or at least with real Colombians.
Sins of my Father (Los Pecados de mi Padre)
We all feel embarrassed by or ashamed of our parents at some point. But none of us has anything on Juan Pablo Escobar – a.k.a. Sebastián Marroquín – who offers an unprecedented intimate look at what it was like to grow up in the center of Colombia’s cocaine trade in this award-winning documentary.
The son of Pablo Escobar currently lives in Buenos Aires under a false name. His story, in his own words, is a powerful reminder of the flesh and blood repercussions of the drug conflict.
thecitypaperbogota.com/culture/five-colombian-alternatives-to-netflixs-narcos/10415