First I will say, that the plot and subplots are well designed, and the period touches are rendered well- and the artistic styling, while in some areas may take some liberties- is overall quite nice. The Casting is great, and Acting is on point.
***Spoilers and debate below ***
This is a bit of a melodrama- so it will be dramatic- but the story definitely is solid and consistent and focusing on the plight of women in the 20's and 30's. we do get sucked in fast and there is a fast pace, and a number of characters to keep track of. on Netflix, when i began to watch- it opened up with English dubbing and that bothered the heck out of me- it is possible to go into options and select English subtitles and European Spanish audio, just FYI. I prefer that- but I will say that once the dialogue picks up it moves fast- i think perhaps Spanish speakers tend to speak fast:-) if you are not a fast reader- this may be difficult and i myself almost switched back because of this- and I am a pretty fast reader I think:-) but i got used to it- i did pause once or twice- to catch one or two words missed-
In regards to some complaints about the music- in watching the first full episode- in terms of artistry- i felt like the creators may have had an influence from Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet, and The Great Gatsby- and Luhrman took liberties with music in those- so perhaps this was that kind of artistic choice? as one French critic suggested- this might bother the hardcore purists, but for those more artistically open and/or less fussy about purity vs artistry- it may not be a point at all- I think the idea is that to the characters- the music they would be listening to is as contemporary as what we hear- it is edgy- to them- i hope i am expressing the thought well- transposing the music can make us feel along for the ride. it may have been weird in a Knights Tale which was not exactly an artistic film- and also was a weird musical- but still fun:-)
Someone posted a review about the archetype characters- firstly, I do not know if this person watched beyond the first episode or not- but every series has a story they wish to tell- a message or three they want to get across- and sometimes establishing the outline of characters early on can help move the story to where we can move with the story. While their are some archetypal undertones- i believe this is more about showing how class, geography, gender, education, and experience shape different people, especially women. Also- and this may be more subtle for some- I found the girl from the village, Marga, to be a possible reflection for one of the main characters in the past- so I think the focus on the differences of the women are important for the series. I want to also note, that perhaps even as the women's stories are more of the focus, there are undertones of the challenges for males as well- albeit much more subtle struggles than the very real ones women endured.
As for the dialog being too fast and too much- as i said above- i found Spanish cinema often has a lot of fast dialog too- and perhaps this is a trait of their art- and/or a reflection of their culture- I have had many Spanish speaking friends- and when they are together the dialog tends to move fast and begins to sound furious:-) I do understand the desire to be able to drink up the period, the story, and the emotions- and i picked some of that up in the brief moments- When Alba comes to the applicant recruiting- as she looks around- at the large building- at the corporate army- in the exposition moments at the beginning- the conversation between Marga and her Grandmother- little moments- the face off between Carlotta and Alba/Lidia..... anyway- this is a fun, artistic, and dramatic series that does remind us of the struggles that were and that still are- and the richness of life for women despite the struggles. One character says to another who just had a really bad day in the city- that there are bad things that can happen that can bring us down- but there are also good things and good moments- and if we focus on the good moments- then we can live. Maybe some of those that wrote some of the above reviews can think about that:-) some good lines in this- hard to remember them exactly- and i hope someone can get some of the good quotes.
***Spoilers and debate below ***
This is a bit of a melodrama- so it will be dramatic- but the story definitely is solid and consistent and focusing on the plight of women in the 20's and 30's. we do get sucked in fast and there is a fast pace, and a number of characters to keep track of. on Netflix, when i began to watch- it opened up with English dubbing and that bothered the heck out of me- it is possible to go into options and select English subtitles and European Spanish audio, just FYI. I prefer that- but I will say that once the dialogue picks up it moves fast- i think perhaps Spanish speakers tend to speak fast:-) if you are not a fast reader- this may be difficult and i myself almost switched back because of this- and I am a pretty fast reader I think:-) but i got used to it- i did pause once or twice- to catch one or two words missed-
In regards to some complaints about the music- in watching the first full episode- in terms of artistry- i felt like the creators may have had an influence from Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet, and The Great Gatsby- and Luhrman took liberties with music in those- so perhaps this was that kind of artistic choice? as one French critic suggested- this might bother the hardcore purists, but for those more artistically open and/or less fussy about purity vs artistry- it may not be a point at all- I think the idea is that to the characters- the music they would be listening to is as contemporary as what we hear- it is edgy- to them- i hope i am expressing the thought well- transposing the music can make us feel along for the ride. it may have been weird in a Knights Tale which was not exactly an artistic film- and also was a weird musical- but still fun:-)
Someone posted a review about the archetype characters- firstly, I do not know if this person watched beyond the first episode or not- but every series has a story they wish to tell- a message or three they want to get across- and sometimes establishing the outline of characters early on can help move the story to where we can move with the story. While their are some archetypal undertones- i believe this is more about showing how class, geography, gender, education, and experience shape different people, especially women. Also- and this may be more subtle for some- I found the girl from the village, Marga, to be a possible reflection for one of the main characters in the past- so I think the focus on the differences of the women are important for the series. I want to also note, that perhaps even as the women's stories are more of the focus, there are undertones of the challenges for males as well- albeit much more subtle struggles than the very real ones women endured.
As for the dialog being too fast and too much- as i said above- i found Spanish cinema often has a lot of fast dialog too- and perhaps this is a trait of their art- and/or a reflection of their culture- I have had many Spanish speaking friends- and when they are together the dialog tends to move fast and begins to sound furious:-) I do understand the desire to be able to drink up the period, the story, and the emotions- and i picked some of that up in the brief moments- When Alba comes to the applicant recruiting- as she looks around- at the large building- at the corporate army- in the exposition moments at the beginning- the conversation between Marga and her Grandmother- little moments- the face off between Carlotta and Alba/Lidia..... anyway- this is a fun, artistic, and dramatic series that does remind us of the struggles that were and that still are- and the richness of life for women despite the struggles. One character says to another who just had a really bad day in the city- that there are bad things that can happen that can bring us down- but there are also good things and good moments- and if we focus on the good moments- then we can live. Maybe some of those that wrote some of the above reviews can think about that:-) some good lines in this- hard to remember them exactly- and i hope someone can get some of the good quotes.
