Pálpito

As Episode 1 of "The Marked Heart" (2022 release from Colombia; 14 episodes of about 40-45 min each) opens, we are introduced to a married couple who are in the car, enjoying Colombian singer Carlos Vives. Then the car suffers a flat tire and wipes out against a tree. Somehow "bad" guys show up and instead of helping the couple, they kidnap the woman... At this point we are 10 min into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: let me admit that I literally knew nothing about this series. Netflix "suggested" it to me based on my viewing preferences. The fact that this was a non-US series piqued my interest, so I happily gave this series a try. The series is super plot-heavy so I can't and won't say much about that. What I will say is this: it is intended to be a rough-and-tough crime drama set in Colombia's dark underbelly of organ trafficking. Alas, it became very quickly apparent that instead this is a soap opera with plot holes the size of Manhattan and correlating plot developments that were completely over the top and frankly utterly unbelievable.

"The Marked Heart" premiered on Netflix a few weeks ago in late April. I'll be honest: I gave it 4 episodes, and when I asked myself if I really had the appetite for 10 more episodes of this, I instantly knew the answer and I quit. Of course don't take my word for it, so I encourage you to check it out, and draw your own conclusion. Just don't say you weren't warned.

Fast paced with enticing cliffhangers at the end of every episode. Thrilling but with the softening cooling of soap opera dialogues. I cannot condone gruesome mistakes in the script complemented with contrived coincidences. Old cliches typical of Latin America productions. Good looking actors and actresses portraying main characters as a resource to keep you engaged with the screen all the way to the end. Secondary actors, "the ruthless bad guys" have lousy grotesque performances, they seem to be acting in a school play stage . Could be watched to have some fun. Some moral questioning arising from the plot spray bright spots in this one more run of the mill series. Some twists in final episode offered . Fine. Colombia producers have exhibited in streaming, better products.

Typical Latin American over acted soap opera. Some people love this genre, but if what you are looking is for an acting that looks real, and not exaggerated characters then you should go for this one. There are some scenes that look just horrible and extremely artificial, to a point that cuts your connection to the script, as you can clearly feel its disconnection with reality.

A man falls in love with a woman who now owns the heart of his late wife, who was murdered for her heart. Now if there's an interesting and relevant theme, here you have one. Unfortunately the Colombian filmmakers turn it into a hard to swallow soap opera. The script is unnecessarily protracted and unrealistic. The acting is soooooo bad, it felt like watching a high school drama. The president-to-be character never transcends the caricature level. The murdered woman plays the trumpet but never fills her cheeks with air. Come on, do some research.

I've learnt two things from this series: First: ALL Colombian women are good looking.

Second: colombians only have sex with their clothes on.

For short: a missed opportunity. Organ trafficking is a relevant issue. It would have deserved a professional approach. This one clearly isn't.

I thought the acting was strong, and the story compellling. Enjoyable drama about a very serious topic. Well casted. Surprising twists and turns throughout. Some of the issues that can only be touched on in a one episode movie, are developed deeper with this story.