Medellin: Sumas y Restas is a realistic portrayal of Medellin in the 1980s and how involvement in the drug trade has its ups and downs so to speak, which can happen rather quickly.
Santiago is a construction engineer is at a party on his farm house with some friends, one of whom is making tons of money in the drug trade, but who he's also a user, and the excesses of use become obvious quickly. Santiago is initially reluctant to use cocaine but eventually gives in. Somewhat short on money to complete his construction projects he is introduced to various characters who are rich and offer quick payment in cash or coke. Again, he tries to stay away from those sorts of people. At some point he is introduced to Gerardo, an owner of a car mechanic shop, who is looking to build something on his large lot. He immediately pays Santiago what he asks to begin the project.
Eventually Santiago, the educated well-spoken bourgeois becomes more involved with Gerardo, the uneducated and foul-mouthed peasant, who in the past was a drug cook but now is his own major cocaine producer. Gerardo asks Santiago to introduce him to some higher class customer who might have a need for large amounts of coke. Santiago does so, introducing him to his cousin who brings in raw material from Peru and exports drugs to Miami. The deal ends up sour provoking the unraveling of the story and of the relationship of our two characters.
The script is completely written in the colloquial language of Medellin, which is a much sweeter sounding Spanish than the rough Mexican, Argentinian, or even from Spain. The English subtitles are of big help, because even if one understands Spanish, some of the terms are specific to the business. Here of course, profanities abound and some turns of phrases are very original and funny. A scene of Gerardo getting in a shouting match with Santiago's cousin is absolutely hilarious.
Throughout the movie some of the ugly realities, of life in Colombia in the past are represented: kidnappings for ransom, shooting sprees in bars, law enforcement corruption, etc.
The acting is good for the most part, the story interesting, the sound professionally done, the script most importantly is excellent and it calls mainly for realism. You'll meet people speaking the way they would at parties, under the influence, when angry, etc. One feature that you never see in American movies but that adds to the realism is people talking at once. That is a challenge and caused some problems when it was re-recorded. There are some lapses in sound / lip movements synchronization. But other than that, this is an excellent production. One oddity is the ending of the US DVD. There is a final shot of buildings that lasts less than a second, as if there is more but it was arbitrarily decided that this would be the ending. Not sure if this is the case with international versions.
If you want to see a different kind of movie dealing with the realities of the drug business in the countries where drugs come from. I highly recommend this movie. It has some exciting, thrilling, funny, sad, interesting moments that as a whole make for an enjoyable and entertaining experience.
Santiago is a construction engineer is at a party on his farm house with some friends, one of whom is making tons of money in the drug trade, but who he's also a user, and the excesses of use become obvious quickly. Santiago is initially reluctant to use cocaine but eventually gives in. Somewhat short on money to complete his construction projects he is introduced to various characters who are rich and offer quick payment in cash or coke. Again, he tries to stay away from those sorts of people. At some point he is introduced to Gerardo, an owner of a car mechanic shop, who is looking to build something on his large lot. He immediately pays Santiago what he asks to begin the project.
Eventually Santiago, the educated well-spoken bourgeois becomes more involved with Gerardo, the uneducated and foul-mouthed peasant, who in the past was a drug cook but now is his own major cocaine producer. Gerardo asks Santiago to introduce him to some higher class customer who might have a need for large amounts of coke. Santiago does so, introducing him to his cousin who brings in raw material from Peru and exports drugs to Miami. The deal ends up sour provoking the unraveling of the story and of the relationship of our two characters.
The script is completely written in the colloquial language of Medellin, which is a much sweeter sounding Spanish than the rough Mexican, Argentinian, or even from Spain. The English subtitles are of big help, because even if one understands Spanish, some of the terms are specific to the business. Here of course, profanities abound and some turns of phrases are very original and funny. A scene of Gerardo getting in a shouting match with Santiago's cousin is absolutely hilarious.
Throughout the movie some of the ugly realities, of life in Colombia in the past are represented: kidnappings for ransom, shooting sprees in bars, law enforcement corruption, etc.
The acting is good for the most part, the story interesting, the sound professionally done, the script most importantly is excellent and it calls mainly for realism. You'll meet people speaking the way they would at parties, under the influence, when angry, etc. One feature that you never see in American movies but that adds to the realism is people talking at once. That is a challenge and caused some problems when it was re-recorded. There are some lapses in sound / lip movements synchronization. But other than that, this is an excellent production. One oddity is the ending of the US DVD. There is a final shot of buildings that lasts less than a second, as if there is more but it was arbitrarily decided that this would be the ending. Not sure if this is the case with international versions.
If you want to see a different kind of movie dealing with the realities of the drug business in the countries where drugs come from. I highly recommend this movie. It has some exciting, thrilling, funny, sad, interesting moments that as a whole make for an enjoyable and entertaining experience.