Loving Pablo pulses with life and passion from the first moment the soundtrack begins its intense beat. We follow the notorious Pablo Escobar from 1981 to 1993, through the eyes of his lover, Virginia Vallejo. You needn’t worry if you don’t know anything about Escobar; it is highly educational, in the least boring way. But the story revolves around much more than simply this man’s infamous life.

It showcases strong women, in both Virginia, and his wife, Maria. Neither of them necessarily needs Pablo, they both genuinely fall in love with him. They are strong and independent on their own. And in Virginia’s case, this shared quality attracts her to him. And through these women, we can see behind this man’s monster persona. “I loved Pablo, I hated Escobar.” – as Virginia states. While Escobar was a monster, and what he did – which we can also witness in this film – is unjustifiable, we do get to peak behind the curtains a little bit, and see the bit of humane behaviour that’s still left in him. Through the love for his children, the strong bond of his family. But every time we catch a glimpse of this, he hides it with such violent acts, that makes us forget they even existed in the first place.

“If you can’t make people love you, then make them respect you. If they don’t respect you, then make them fear you.” – With these lines, Pablo’s character is so intricately and well explaine, and throughout the twelve year span we see him we can witness all of this, breathing, bubbling from his actions, resulting in a horrifying, but unavoidable end.

The film is full of strong feats; the brutal showcase of honestly telling the story, its sometimes dark, morbid humour, the terrific acting, an intense soundtrack that lives on its own. The only fault that could be found were Javier Bardem’s prosthetics as Pablo. In such an intricately built up, authentic world, it just took away the illusion.

But all in all, in the end, it came down to Virginia, who was able to survive Escobar, and come out on the better end. Always fighting, looking out for herself, and doing all of this in exquisite style! This piece of history will definitely leave a mark on you, and will stay with you long after you left the theater.

by Eszter Jászfalvi

Eszter Jászfalvi is a femme from Budapest, Hungary, who’s a self-proclaimed perfectionist, a budding actress, a bibliophile and a beginner cook. Her favourite films include The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, Psycho, Donnie Darko, The Imitation Game and Brokeback Mountain. She’ll watch anything that Tim Burton and Wes Anderson makes, and whatever Dane Dehaan and Mia Wasikowska acts in. She’s also a serious binge watcher of all the good shows, such as Mr. Robot, Gossip Girl, American Horror Story, Bates Motel, Reign, also Black-ish. You can find her on Instagram @esztisworld, on Tumblr at esztiiscreatingherself.tumblr.com, , on letterboxd here  and Twitter here