(PCM) Written and directed by Andrea Di Stefano, Escobar: Paradise Lost weaves a fictional tale of love, betrayal, murder, and drugs around real life notorious Colombian drug dealer Pablo Escobar.
The French-Spanish romantic thriller stars Benecio Del Toro as Pablo Escobar, Josh Hutcherson as Nick, a Canadian surfer who falls in love with Escobar’s niece, Maria, played by Claudia Traisac.
It’s 1983 when Nick decides to open a surf shop on the coast of Colombia with his brother. After falling in love with Maria, Nick becomes entangled with the notorious drug lord and the dangerous world of the family business.
Escobar: Paradise Lost stars Academy Award winning actor Benecio Del Toro (Snatch, The Usual Suspects), Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games, The Kids Are Alright), Claudia Traisac (The 7th Day, Luna, el misterio de Calenda), and Brady Corbet (Melancholia, Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene).
In September at the Zurich Film Festival, Josh Hutcherson said of working with Del Toro: “It’s pretty intense. So I was nervous about that. But having met him before, and getting to know him on a personal level… Nick can’t see that Pablo’s a bad guy in the beginning. He gets lured in; he gets seduced. And I think that knowing Benicio personally helped him seduce me.”
Escobar: Paradise Lost, veteran Italian actor Andrea Di Stefano’s first film, has received positive reviews from critics in the months leading to its release, especially for Benecio Del Toro’s performance as Pablo Escobar.
Scott Foundas of Variety wrote of Del Toro’s performance: “For all its efforts to turn its title character a supporting one Escobar is, unsurprisingly, never better than when Del Toro takes center stage…Del Toro plays the part as a kind of gun-toting Lear — in life and in art, a man who can not so easily be relegated to the sidelines.”
Escobar: Paradise Lost opens in select theaters November 26, 2014. Watch the trailer below!
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