Apache: The Life of Carlos Tevez (2019) User Reviews

Wonderful depiction of Tévez's early life.

[patriciogl10 · 8/10 · 20 September 2019]

I want to start off by mentioning that I am argentinian, a huge Boca fan and I particularly like Carlos Tévez as a person and as a player. So, all of those things naturally inclined me to eagerly watch this series. I've always thought that his life should be turned into a movie, but that would be too short, so it would work out better as a TV series. I was a bit skeptical in regards to the narrative quality and the production values of this effort but as soon as I tuned in, I was pleasantly surprised, since I was watching a high quality product. From the production design, the locations, the script, the actors and the direction, it was all phenomenal. The main cast give a stellar performance, so incredibly believable in each of their parts.

Carlos Tévez had a very rough upbringing in the dangerous streets of Fuerte Apache, one of Buenos Aires' most notorious neighbourhoods due to high crime rates, including theft, murder and drug trafficking. And he somehow managed to dodge those heavy bullets and followed his passion to play football, and specially to play for Boca, the team of his affections. I really hope we get a second season, to show his rise to stardom, and everything in between.

Kudos to Balthazar Murillo (he plays Tévez), Vanesa González (she plays Carlos' aunt, Adriana), Alberto Ajaka (Segundo; Carlos' uncle), Sofía Gala (Fabiana; Carlos' birth mother) and Matías Recalt (Danilo, Carlos' best friend), they all did a magnificent job in their respective roles.

Apache: perfection and extraordinary 8/10

[saadanathan · 8/10 · 16 October 2020]

"Apache" is an extraordinary mini series that retells the early life of footballer Carlos Tevez. How he got his burns on his body, the miserable poor life he went through with his family, the frightening moments at night and the moments he shined on the field and became a legend at boca. The series mostly focuses on the life he went through as a child with his family, how they lived in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Argentina. This series shows an overview of the situation in Fuerte Apache and how the characters face the crime and violence in the streets. The story of Carlos Tevez is a really tragic one when you look at it in a certain point: he used to have a pretty normal daily basis, once the story advances things start to change in his life: his uncle gets shot, his family is in danger, his girlfriend leaves to a different city, he loses his best friend and faces his real mother who left him behind. Sure, he is accepted to Boca Juniors and then to the U-21 squad of Argentina's national football team. Be he grows up faster and becomes more mature, he faces many changes along the way. Now, of course the series needs to have a little more drama so they give the audience some action scenes, I'm pretty sure many of the characters shown are fictional and made only for dramatization. Either way their story is tragic as well: Danilo's arc was really emotional, from a young boy with a lot of potential in football to a boy who succumbs to drugs and revenge, such a tragic tale that is portrayed fabulously. All in all, Apache is a great series that shows how much life is unfair and complex. How people like Carlos Tevez needed to work hard to get out of their neighborhoods and leave a lot behind. I hope to see more series or movies such as this one who talk about football of course, but also tell a wonderful and heartbreaking story.

Good, but exaggerated

[pukear · 6/10 · 2 October 2020]

It is a interesting story, that has a couple of needles final 2 chapters where the story becomes a bit of a caricature.

Technically flawed, but an intense portrait of his life.

[foxtografo · 7/10 · 20 December 2023]

This was so enjoyable and interesting, I could easily ignore the not so good technical aspects of the series.

Even if I'm Argentinian, I didn't know much about the football star more than where he was from. I didn't know how much of a big hearted person he is, and having to endure such a childhood and coming up after becoming such a star as a humble, caring, loving person for whom humanitarian values are the most important his family taught him, is an absolute pleasure. I even watched interviews with the player after finishing the last 4 episodes (in a row) and it's really moving to see that there's still people that only want to help everyone be happy and safe, regardless their background.

I have to trust the depiction of the neighbourhood where he grew up, as you don't really go in there if you're Argentinian, but I can trust Carlos Tevez to have given an accurate insight of it, and it's shocking (maybe not so much for an Argentinian, sadly).

I found specially interesting to see how these humble people, some more aggressive and damaged than others, hold on for their families, sometimes in the sweetest ways, but can be absolute monsters when they go out to "work" or settling issues with other inhabitants of the neighbourhood. The ones that want to live a decent, lawful life have to suffer their surroundings, but almost accept it as what's normal, rejecting the law's enforcement (which, I know, can be even more violent, sometimes).

It's heart warming to know Carlos made it through all this and he's still loved and admired by everyone. It's the pure example that integrity can be kept in the most hostile environments and it can pay up, with a little bit of luck (Tevez had it all, ultimately).

And it's heart breaking to see how many don't make it, and how much they suffer and how badly they end. In this story, Danilo is one of those, and the real story of the person who's based on is not exactly the same but equally sad (I'll add it on the trivia of this movie).

On the technical side, there could be some polish on the writing, some performances on certain intense scenes could be better, and the cinematography at moments felt a bit amateurish trying to light too much scenes that could have looked better with a natural lighting (nothing serious at all, I'm being very technical here).

The CGI used for the last scene has to be overlooked, the production obviously didn't have the budget do do better, but it really looks quite bad.

Acceptable flaws if you're up to appreciate the story of this amazing person.

Now I feel like I really admire Carlos Tevez, in his simplicity, he has so much to teach to all of us.

More than soccer. The history of our Latin American countries.

[bola_de_pu · 10/10 · 21 August 2019]

I am not a believer in making television series without an athlete's career ending, either by mysticism or by cabal, but the Apache story deserves to be told. It deserves to be told because it presents the reality of a million children in Latin America, a reality that almost never appears in the news and that the government hides for its own benefit. The story was presented in a cruel way, which pays for the seriousness of the Apache story. Some will say "another story of a soccer player", but for me it is not "the story of another soccer player". I am Puerto Rican, and like millions of Latin Americans, I know what our countries are going through. This television series show us that part of Buenos Aires and Argentina that they don't put on television and in newspapers, which is poverty, social conflicts, problems with drugs, violence, among others. Therefore, every time I see this story of Tevez, it gives me sadness and joy at the same time. Happiness because Carlitos could get out of that hell where he lived, but sadness because of every 100 Carlitos, only 10 can leave where they are and only 1 can become what Carlitos is. Therefore, every time a Neymar, a Vinicius, a Tevez, a Ronaldinho, a Di María, a Cuadrado or an Alexis Sánchez manage to leave their country and reach Europe, it is an achievement for our Latin American countries. All those sacrifices that were made along the way suddenly seem forgotten, but they will always be there. Reminding you where you come from and where you are going.

Gritty Rise to Stardom

[salvatoresilvestrino · 10/10 · 8 December 2019]

Let me start by saying, I am Italian, I was born not far from the San Paolo Stadium in Napoli, where my greatest player of all time played...Diego Armando Maradona but I am the biggest Juventus Fan and I loved when Carlos Tévez joined us....I absolutely love him as a player.

So when I read an article about (Apache: La vida de Carlos Tevez). I could not wait to sit down and watch the grim rise of Carlos from Fuerte Apache, one of Buenos Aires's most dangerous, drug fueled neighborhoods. And Carlos through almost naive understanding of his surroundings, somehow managed to stay away from stray bullets, drugs and crime. He followed his passion to play football.

The performances are mesmerizing none more than from Balthazar Murillo, what a find, at times looking at both Carlo and Balthazar there are a lot similarities........

A work of art

[goranref · 10/10 · 18 November 2020]

Even if you are not a soccer fan, you can watch it. I myself am not a huge fan of Carlos Tevez, and I was a sceptic before starting this show. Oh, my! The action keeps going, the show keeps you glued to the screen. And the chain of events is great, not too fast, not too slow. I would say the best part of the show is cinematography- the shabby buildings and clothes, poverty, gangs, they all depict the terrible conditions of poor hoods in S.America. The main actors did a great job here, too. A masterpiece, give it a try.

Excellent !

[schraner-22841 · 10/10 · 4 January 2020]

A pleasure to watch and learn how these famous playera struggled in life on daily basis without looking back and further achieve there goals !!!

Love it

[tahir-67000 · 10/10 · 14 December 2019]

Love it cant wait for season 2 to start. Filed bad on his best friend he was much better fc than teves. Many thing to be learn from session one

Emotional Story and Amazing performance

[jenniberisa-62965 · 9/10 · 15 December 2019]

I Love true stories and this is really one of my favourites. So mutch emotions and amazing performance of how reality actually can be today, in this world. Carlos Managed to Succed while growing in a dangerous city. Im trully happy for his succes in life. Carlos is a big role model for many people. Im Travelling in few weeks from Sweden to Argentina because I Always wanted to visit La Boca and I Had no idea that Buenos Aires had ghettos thats in this bad condition. It has trully opend my eyes after seeing the series. Only reason why I Gave 9 of 10 Because I Wanted to see More := ) Otherwise from me its 10/10.

REALLY GOOD!

[Guanche48 · 9/10 · 12 October 2021]

I don't like soccer, and I had doubts about whether to watch it or not. But I don't regret choosing to watch this series.

It is very emotional and only for adults.

Action and crime barely let you breathe, very exciting and fascinating in every way.

The actors are some of the best I have seen in Argentina and the story unfolds in a most realistic setting.

Without a doubt, do not miss it if you like strong emotions and the poor reality that still surrounds us.

Excelente

[rfadam · 8/10 · 18 June 2022]

I am not very knowledgeable about soccer and had actually never heard of Carlos Tevez before I watched the series, but really enjoyed it. Portrays Telez' struggle to survive and succeed amidst the poverty, drugs and violence in the Fuerte Apache district of Buenos Aires. As someone familiar with Mexican Spanish, the language used in this series was full of colorful idioms and difficult to understand, but it fit the characters and setting. Great biographical story of family and community and soccer, although not that much soccer. One thing I didn't like: they kept repeating the same pan-shot of the Fuerte Apache about ten times each episode. Otherwise, yes this series has flaws but still highly recommend it.