As "Escobar: Paradise Lost" (2014 release from France and Spain; 120 min.) opens, we are told it is "Medellin, Colombia, June, 1991". We see Escobar making a phone call to his old mother, informing her he is going to prison tomorrow. On this last night of freedom, Escobar gathers his closest aides, including Nick, and everyone is assigned a particular task to hide the economic wealth of the cartel. Escobar tells Nick that he needs to kill his guide after the loot has been hidden, much to Nick's horror. We then go back "A Few Years Earlier", where we see Nick, a Canadian surfer, and his brother Dylan building a surf camp. Nick meets Maria, a beautiful local girl, whom we later learn is related to Escobar (he is Maria's uncle). At this point we're 15 min. into the movie. Will Nick kill the guide? What becomes of Nick and Maria? To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: first, the movie's main events surrounding Escobar are based on facts, including the historical surrender in 1991. But I have my doubts that the parallel story lines involving Nick and Maria really happened. If they had, we probably would have b told at the beginning that this movie was "based on true events" or something like it. Not that this diminishes the enjoyment of the film, as somehow this mix of facts and fiction works great. The relationship between Nick and Maria is fun to watch, in particular as Claudia Traisac (playing Maria) is nothing short of a glowing presence on the big screen, what a delight! Benicio del Toro, portraying Escobar, is a heavy-weight and overpowers everyone, similar to what Markon Brando did in The Godfather. Josh Hutcherson is okay as Nick. His best moment in the movie is when he and Maria attend a birthday party for Escobar, and along the way Nick comes to the realization of what is really going on and what Escobar does. Priceless! The last 30 min. of the movie provide a nice pay-off and will have you on the edge of your seat.
"Escobar: Paradise Lost" showed up without any pre-release fanfare or hype at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati last weekend, and I finally had a chance to check it out. The matinée screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great. I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised by this movie, which turned out to be much better than what I had expected. If you are in the mood for a tough-as-nails crime drama with several top-notch performances, I encourage you to seek this out, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "Escobar: Paradise Lost" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
