My love for classic telenovelas had me hooked on this remake. My husband and I are huge fans, glued to the Telenovela Channel. So after loving Marian Rivera's Marimar (2007), I dove into the Erich Gonzales version of Maria la del Barrio. Because that Thalia's original version captivated me, especially how cleverly they handled "Nandito", Thalia's son's storyline. The filmmakers were brilliant in making Thalia and Fernando Colunga look like they were in their mid-forties, even though the "Nandito" actor Osvaldo Benavides was only few years younger than them in real life. Plus, Soraya was one of the most iconic telenovela villains ever! So I was so excited to see how this Filipino version would measure up.
Unfortunately this remake was a little bit of disappointing, sure it tries to capture a distinctly Filipino feel, unfortunately it fell into the usual teleserye tropes. It felt like they just copied the Cinderella-style revenge formula that made the 2007 Marimar such a hit and turned Marian Rivera into a superstar. The cast did a great job, but I think Erich Gonzales deserved a more magnetic leading man. Enchong Dee just didn't have the same powerful presence as Colunga, he's not manly enough. Still, Gonzales was amazing in this version. Her transformation from sweet and innocent to fiercely vengeful was incredible. The show was good, but don't expect anything new, it's basically just a rehash of the 2007 Marimar. But I think they omitted the original version's twists and turns because they were too controversial for national Filipino television, Soraya, in the original, was exceptionally dark and too villainous!
