Escobar: Paradise Lost

A film set around Pablo Escobar that does not put him at its centre. Nick is a Canadian surfer. He comes to Colombia with his brother and they set up a small business on the beach. There Nick meets Maria and the relationship develops. Then she introduces him to her family: her uncle is Pablo Escobar. The idea is to see Escobar from outside. Nick knows nothing of the drug trade, has no interest in politics, and first meets the man as the head of a family: generous, calm, talkative. The threat appears only when something is asked of Nick. The second half turns into a story of escape and the pace changes entirely. The narrative falls in the period of Escobar's surrender; he has had his own prison built and is closing his affairs outside. Benicio del Toro plays Escobar. Josh Hutcherson plays Nick. It is Andrea Di Stefano's first film as director. An interesting angle for anyone who likes crime drama and narratives built on dread. For a viewer who wants to learn Escobar's story in detail, this is not a biography; the man stands at the edge of the narrative and most of the events are invented.