selvita

I am very sorry to say this but some remakes are not worthy at all. If you had seen the Venezuelian version of this soap opera, the incredible "Crystal", you'd understand what I am saying. This pale version of a wonderful story is completely sunk by the mediocre performances of the 'senior' actors. Andres Garcia is the most dramatic case as he and some of his colleagues in this production seem to be needing immediate acting courses. I am also very disappointed by Helena Rojo who gives to her character a total immature perspective which lacked in the brilliant and spiritual performance of the amazing Lupita Ferrer. In fact, this Mexican version cannot stand the comparison. The only two actresses who give their best are Cynthia Klitbo and Jacqueline Voltaire. They add to their mother-daughter relationship all the characteristics of a strained love affair. Besides, they are tragic and funny at the same time. But the worst of all, I think, is the miscasting of the leading couple. While Adela Noriega cannot convince anyone that she is a model or a responsible mother, her partner, Rene Stickler, is completely lost in his boring grimaces, never getting to know what his role is in this love story. I longed for the desire, passion and chemistry displayed in every chapter by Jeannette Rodriguez and Carlos Mata in the original version. And even though Mexican girls are not at all as beautiful and exuberant as the Venezuelian actresses, I think that the characters of Lorenza and Lisbeth deserved more accomplished professionals. Where are Mariela Alcala and Gigi Zanchetta when we need them?

O.K. This is a good try. But this 'novela' has not the quality of the storyline of, e.g., "La Noche", also a Peruvian production. First of all, the "good" things: yeah, the costumes. There is a lot of great effort there but it would have been nice to teach the actors how to use them! You cannot move or walk in a 20th-century manner using those clothes!! Then, the few exterior locations... but knowing Peru, I think that they could use its wonderful natural sites a lot better. Then, the "less good" things: the actors. Only Teddy Guzman is completely natural and attached to her character. I know that today Meier and Cepeda are "famous" but besides their many and long kissing scenes, I don't think they had much to give, at the time, as actors. They do not enlighten their characters and, worse of all, there is no chemistry between them at all. I saw no love, no passion and no tenderness in their eyes, they were just like a couple of shy friends. And Sonia Oquendo really overacts all the time! A thing that really shocked me was the misuse of the contemporary language. I do not think that people could talk in that way at the end of the 19th century. And it is not only the use of certain expressions but the way they are said. Unhappily, there were very strong class differences in society at the time and many scenes this 'novela' presents are simply impossible to imagine. As I said at the beginning, the script is not good enough. It is always the same ridiculous story about the orphan and miserable girl who gets to work in a rich house in order to seduce its patron. It's "Simplemente Maria" or "Maria Mercedes" a hundred-year ago. Not even the music adds a little bit of charm to this "great" South American production.

After a very promising first season, the viewer easily gets lost in this incongruous series' storyline. Just when one starts to know the characters, their personalities or their anecdotes, the script begins to drift, so you can never get attached to the heroines nor to their many absurd life experiences. Are the three main characters trying to set a new world record in the number of their sexual partners? Jessica for example, has been attached to at least three men in a season. Even though the costumes and the locations are gorgeous, actors (and especially the actresses) cannot act and continuity is not at "rendez-vous" between the chapters.

This is "the" modern soap opera. Everything is in there from the very beginning. Mystery, crime, adultery and of course... beautiful people and ... love. Andres Garcia as the leading guy, Antonio Lombardo, is impossibly great : what a body, what a voice, not to mention his mesmerizing eyes!! Salvador Pineda, who plays his half-brother and rival, is also very worthy as the classical villain. Lucia Mendez is... Lucia Mendez : the heroine who falls in love with the character played by Pineda. As soon as she marries him, she discovers that his husband has used his half-brother's identity just to kill him and inherit him. As the victim survives and momentarily loses his memory, confusion, deception and new romance is in the air... First actress Martha Guzman deserves a special mention as the very touching mother who struggles between her feelings for his spoiled but real son and her duty and deep love for his step son. Filmed partly in beautiful Mexican exteriors, this soap opera opens the way to a new generation of "telenovelas".

I Know. Oscar Wilde did not deserve this but here are some clues that may help us in judging this film more nicely. First of all, I think it was a good idea to make Dorian Gray a woman in the eighties as an aspiring actress-turned-to-be top model. Did you know that for the 1945 Lewin's version, Greta Garbo wanted the leading role dearly? Secondly, it is not so ridiculous to use a "film" instead of a picture or a "portrait". We have to remember that here we are in Los Angeles at the moment when the VHS exploded. This adaptation only reflects the epoch in which it was made. Could you imagine a girl snubbing a movie role for a modeling career instead nowadays? Finally, I liked the song. It summarizes the real story, it is seductive and tries to tell us the causes and consequences of the sins Dorian supposedly committed (but which of course we don't see). Unhappily, these elements alone do not make a good adaptation. I would have started by a better written script and a better casting. Anthony Perkins as Henry Lord (instead of Lord Henry Wotton, not so clever after all) is really alone in this one.