Sur l'autel de la famille

This is another wonderful spanish psychological drama, mystery, action with novela like qualities from the director of House of Flowers/Casa de flores. He weaves beautiful cinematography and visual symbols, and weaves past with present plot twists to tell the story. He always has a wonderful queerness that just is, in his stories which as a queer person is wonderful to watch. The leads Najwa & Alba were also in Money Heist - another great series in this genre and are AMAZING-love them. You have to be OK with the fact that this is a NOVELA - meaning over the top themes. Watch it in Spanish with subtitles to really feel the actors if you don't understand Spanish.

(with a few shortcomings, but which one is exempt of any of those?)

Najwa Nimri was amazing in it, as usually.

I don't mind the scattered story-telling, I love it when shows are done like this, happening on multiple timelines. I think the only thing which could have been done much better regarding this aspect is the way they handled the essential informations. They gave away too much at the very beginning. They should have left us guessing about what is actually going on, and to reveal the facts (like who really is the birthmother of the child) just at the end of the season, it would have been more intriguing that way imo.

What was annoying was that the twins, especially Aitana continuously did stupid things... They'd probably already be in Canada if they would have been able to not blindly follow their libido for one more week, lol...

The early 00's feeling they wanted to bring back, has visually left a stain on the show (make-up/costumes), but oh well, I can live with that.

So plot/visual-wise this would be a 8/10 for me.

But thanks to Najwa who made it interesting to watch and considering the fact that I liked the show enough that I'd like it to get a second season, made me give it a 9. Maybe in the next one they'll get right what they missed here. Fingers crossed!

First, the show is really good, I finished it in 2 days, its so addictive you can't stop watching.

I liked the central topic and how it showed us the moral dilemma that mothers face. The main idea is to examine the link a mother forms with her child.

The main character here can be seen a villain, caring mother, criminal etc. But I sorta understand her pain, losing a child is always hard and accepting it can be even harder. But the question is how can a mother that lost her child do the same to another mother?

Wouldn't it be the same suffering?

Also, the actors are great in their portrayals, the atmosphere is also pleasant, I liked how it is set in the 90s.

So, a good show that asks important questions and lets you find your own way of answering them.

This mini series hooks you from the start and makes you discover the many facets of motherhood. It is not only a story of a family drama but it also touches on how women see their roles within society, are these roles imposed or self-chosen ?

Najwa Nimri is fabulous in her role and the plot, even if at times is predictable, keeps you hooked. Alba Flores does not disappoint either even if her accent was a bit weird. The OST was also well chosen. I don't get the negative reviews as the story telling has been used in other series (flashbacks to explain how things are interwoven). It is definitely a bing able series made by Netflix.

Having made mistakes in the past, there is no way to fix them, all you need is a gun, a knife, or an irresistible desire to forget everything. The film shows plot interweaving in the style of Pedro Almodovar. The film is about the fact that the mistakes of family life can be corrected only by criminal talent. It is impossible to keep the past in the present today's life. He just needs to be killed. Which is what several families do, whose lives are tightly connected by a criminal past and family secrets. In the film, the characters are not divided into good and bad. Depending on the situation, everyone acts only as it is beneficial to him at the moment. Son and daughter can kill mother. Mother can kill everyone. And nothing can be fixed. You can only kill the past in the literal and figurative sense. Cold-blooded and merciless, for the sake of his family, profit and future. This is today's reality.