O Clone

Extraordinary¡¡¡ I have never watched something like this. It is a very good history. Eleven compact discs, one book, 280 episodes of 50 minutes each one (too long¡¡), it is the result of writer Gloria Perez. Topics like drugs, two similar religions, forbidden love and ethics are mixed by Gloria Perez very well.

What do you get when you mix the story of two young lovers and the making of a human clone? You get an interesting story by way of a Brazilian telenovela (soap opera) called O CLONE (The Clone).

Known for incorporating social issues into her stories, Glória Perez includes the following topics in her latest telenovela: Drug addiction, Middle Eastern culture (Muslim lifestyle), and science fiction (human cloning). Given the current news headlines of cloning and the Middle East, the telenovela becomes even more important and gives cause for discussion after viewing each episode.

O CLONE takes the viewer to two striking locations - modern-day Brazil and Morocco. The two main characters are introduced - Jade, a headstrong Muslim girl from Morocco and Lucas, a docile, daydreamer from Brazil with a Catholic religious background. The two meet and fall in love. The problem is that their different cultures make it difficult for a union between them. Jade's family has chosen a family for her, and Lucas's family is reluctant for him to marry a foreigner. In addition to their story, a scientist creates a human clone after a loved one prematurely dies. This clone later becomes an important part of the lives of Jade and Lucas.

The viewer gets a chance to see a Muslim household and what goes on there. Some of the scenes may be a bit exaggerated since the storytellers use poetic license to make the story more dramatic. However, the scenes can be used to open up a dialogue of discussion about a culture that may not be known or understood by many in the west. Despite the differences between the cultures - Christian and Muslim, it becomes clear that there are many similarities such as one's love of family and the desire to find happiness.

Veteran novela director, Jayme Monjardim and his team have produced an outstanding product with O CLONE. His handiwork shows beautiful close-ups of the actors and enchanting shots of the land and cityscape of Morocco and Brazil. He skillfully captures both places.

The lead actress, Giovanna Antonelli (Jade), gives a believable presentation as the Muslim girl, torn between following her true heart's desire and the dictates of her family to marry the man chosen for her. Lead actor, Murilo Benício (Lucas) also gives a winning performance as the young man who has fallen in love with a girl from a different society who his family will not accept. Benício plays three different roles - twins and the clone. Each character is different and convincing.

The rest of the cast also gives strong performances. This includes Stênio Garcia as Uncle Ali, Elaine Giardini as Nazira, Daniela Escobar as Maysa, Vera Fischer as Yvette, Reginaldo Farias as Leônidas, Letícia Sabatella as Latiffa, Dalton Vigh as Said, Antonio Calloni as Mohamed, Adriana Lessa as Deusa, and Jandira Martini as Zoraide. Actually the cast list goes on I'm sure you get the idea. All the actors are good.

O CLONE captured the attention of over 18 million viewers in Brazil. The telenovela successfully took hold of the American T.V. audience, as well. Brazilian telenovelas shown in the U.S. are usually dubbed into Spanish. For the first time in the history of telenovelas shown in the U.S., English sub-titles (closed caption) have been included. Now, non-Spanish speakers have a chance to enjoy the story as well.

In addition to an arresting and sometimes controversial storyline, the telenovela has a fun music soundtrack full of Brazilian and Middle Eastern music. Thanks to musical director, Marcus Viana, the music adds to the success of the novela as a whole.

O CLONE is one of those telenovelas that doesn't waste your time. I highly recommend this Brazilian soap opera for your viewing pleasure.

I normally don't watch things that are dubbed into another language: It annoys me to not know whether the dubbing actor's voice matches that of the one on screen, and it also bothers me that emotional nuances of the original actors' performances could be lost in translation. I made an exception for El Clon (as it was called in the US) and I'm glad I did.

We don't normally get a look at Muslim family values in the US, and many who have not watched this excellent novela will never know the fascinating things to be learned from it. The misogyny that infects people in the fundamentalist countries is absent from the Muslim characters, who rejoice at the birth of healthy daughters and love them as much as their sons. Other issues are touched upon including the practice of FGM (not in the Qur'an and condemned by Tio Ali as an antiquated barbaric tribal practice), veiling, arranged marriages, divorce and child custody issues, the actual Muslim viewpoint on marital sex (very good news here), and inter cultural relations. Tio Ali is one of the most endearing characters in the story as the philosophical uncle of the impulsive and headstrong Jade. He attempts to get her to follow the rules for all the right reasons, but eventually understands where he went wrong in both his methods and his thinking. Tio Abdul, on the other hand, represents most things that non-Muslims fear about them in his contempt for all non-Muslims, entertainment, technology, and anything else he is unfamiliar with. He does not take advantage of what Tio Ali tells us in a late episode is the greatest gift to man: the right to think. For that reason, he sometimes rails at the ideas of others in a most annoying manner.

Related issues are presented in contrast in the larger Brazilian community as the Brazilian characters court, marry, commit adultery, move up or down socially, deal with substance abuse, and attempt to endure the slings and arrows of their own outrageous fortune. In the end we are asking ourselves whether a social structure is worth bowing to when the personal human cost is as high as the price paid by Lucas, Jade, Maysa, Said, and the people affected by their fates.

The comic relief in this series is brilliant and is sometimes expressed in small, unexpected moments. A good example is the scene in Rio where Mohamed suddenly gets hungry while seeing a man eating a sandwich on the street during Ramadan, a sight he realizes he would never see back home in Morocco. Nazira's romantic fantasies are visualized with bittersweet humor, amusing in their presentation but with a note of pity for Nazira's "old maid" status. The one story fault here is that there is no adequate explanation for her unmarried state in a culture where most people are married off in their late teens and early twenties, unless we conclude that Tio Abdul knew that she would make any husband's life miserable in the long term.

The social and ethical issues about human cloning are well-presented although not dealt with on the human level until late in the story: Does a clone have parents and who are they? How is he supposed to think of himself? What of the person whose cells were used to make the clone, especially if he did not consent to the procedure? When should the scientist pause and listen to the philosopher? What should be the legal outcome of this unprecedented situation?

Most of the noteworthy performances have been mentioned by the other reviewers, but I will add two more names to that list: Adriana Lessa as Deusa, the woman who unknowingly was the maternal guinea pig, represents every woman who wants a child and will go to any lengths to have one. She is in deep denial about the fact that there is something incredibly wrong when she gives birth to an infant who is so racially different from herself, but loves that child intensely, protecting him like a lioness with a cub. Luciano Szafir is highly memorable as the mysterious Zein. He is one of the most intriguing minor characters as the Egyptian-born Muslim who straddles both cultures socially while emotionally probably belonging more to the non-Muslim world than he thinks he does. He is the emotional flip side of Jade in addition to being the most sexually charismatic of the male characters in this story.

The entire production is visually stunning, with big-screen style images both of Brazil and Morocco, and a music soundtrack worthy of an epic film. I have the CDs and have played them many times. Did every belly dancer in Rio and Fez get a chance to appear in this series?

While Mexican novelas manipulate you emotionally, this Brazilian production makes you think. I hope the scientific community was watching.

ambitious, seductive, seems be a complete work. the great virtue is the mix between science and Oriental flavors.the second - love stories. a film who reminds old adventure books of childhood. interdict things and the air of freedom, sacrifices and not reasonable choices, splendid music and windows to an exotic civilization. and, sure, soap - opera tools. a seductive series who impresses for its courage to use so many different ingredients. and, sure, for the not bad result. a large fresco with nice performances - the work of Murilo Benicio is admirable -, good options of team for interesting themes and a lovely story who has the force to be more than a part of a long South American soap operas list.

I have also seen this soap opera twice, I just love the settings, the views, the locations, the story and the people in it! In the beginning I got hooked up by the scenery, the story was just too sweet and plain, then it started to change, I learned about muslims and the way they live, and how everything made sense. The dialogs were small poems and life lectures. Time passed and everything started falling into place. 20 years later, the characters slightly changed, and a new neighborhood added new dimension to the story development. I hated Lucas; because of him, his relationship with Jade never took off. She risked everything and he was always a wimp. But that was necessary because his twin brother was the one who supposed to be brave and dare to do whatever he wanted. Leo took months to show up after 20 years, but it was worth it. He really got everybody busy and wondering what was going on.