Pasion de amor (2015) - Review

This is my very first pinoy teleseries and I was excited to watch it since it was a remake of the very popular and one of my all time favorite latin soap operas, passion de gavilanes. So, how did this remake fare against the “original”? (passion de gavilanes was also a remake but it is the most popular version till today).

What is this about:

After their parents died, Juan, the eldest brother of the Samonte family, tries to provide the best for his younger siblings, Oscar, Franco and Olivia. The brothers find out that Olivia is seeing an older and wealthy man, Bernardo Elizondo, and they try to convince her to stop seeing him. when Bernardo’s wife, Gabriela, finds out about the affair, she hires men to kill Bernardo and Olivia. After Olivia was raped and murdered the Samonte brothers swear to find the responsible and bring them to justice. So, they infiltrate the Elizondo house as workers where they meet the mother Gabriela and her three daughters Norma, Sari and Jamie.

My review:

Unfortunately this remake pales in comparison. I was thinking why is that, because both versions have their fare share of ridiculousness and eye rolling moments (more on that later). So, I realized that it is the actors that make all the difference. The 2004 version has a stellar cast for the main roles that sold the romance and sold all the ridiculous plot twists the writers thought. In this 2015 version most of the actors are vividly limited and they can’t hold the weight of the story.

Let’s start with the Elizondo family.

I love her hair in this drama

Norma (Arci Munoz) is the eldest daughter of the family and in many occasions the pillar that strengthens the family. She is, like the other versions, raped a few years prior to her upcoming marriage. That has resulted in her keeping things to herself as well as secrets from her family and more importantly from her sisters. She is a bit too perfect and one dimensional and I am talking about one of the most interesting characters in the series, so go figure. The actress is one of the two most capable actors in the series – the other one is Juan, more on him later. Despite the paper thin character and craziness of the plot, she maintained her connection with the audience. 

Sari (Ellen Adama) is the second daughter and the more independent one. She had a different attitude around men than Norma, who is afraid of them. She is treating it more like a game and she is the least romantic of the sisters. She is as capable as Norma in business, which is a source of jealousy from her part for Norma as she always seems perfect. The actress is not bad, but she is not good either. Certain emotions she can emote better than other, but I didn’t really care about her, character and actress alike.

I even forgot to take a snapshot of Jamie - shows how much I cared about her.

Jamie (Coleen Garcia) is the third child and the sweet diplomat of the family. She tries to get independent but fails most of the time and she needs to get rescued. There is not much about her character. The worst part is the actress. I am sorry but she has no acting skills. She can look cute and sweet, but this is not acting and it shows in more dramatic situations. 

Gabriela (Tereza Loyzaga) is the mother of the Elizondo girls and this is the biggest change character-wise comparing to the other versions. I was surprised. In other versions, Gabriela is a lonely woman that has neglected herself and feels betrayed by her husband’s affair. Her only concern is her daughters and her hatred for the Reyes brothers. She made several bad decisions, but deep down she is a good woman that loves her family. Here, Gabriela is a cruel and murderous woman that cares only for herself. This is not a spoiler, in the first few episodes her villainess is right in front of us. The actress is not very good, but her character was enough to hate her, so I didn’t care that much.

Moving on with the Samonte family. 

Juan (Jake Cuenca) is the oldest brother and father figure after their parents died. He takes his role more seriously than he should but it is understandable considering his story. He is very loyal to his family and every single time he put his family first, which sometimes is a disadvantage. However, he is not always honest with his brothers, since he is the older brother, he must protect them even by keeping things secret from them. The actor is one of the most capable actors – see Norma above. Every emotion he was feeling, he was expressing it through his eyes. Sometimes he was overacting, as everyone in those life or death situations, but he was convincing and a welcome break from the rest of the cast that couldn’t act. On a more superficial note, I hated his hair. I hated it. Why would he have this particular hair when he looks so much better with shorter?

 Oscar is the second child and the mischievous one. He is the most ambitious and cold hearted. He treats relationships like a game, like Sari, and either he takes things too seriously or not seriously enough. The actor is too limited to show any convincing emotion.

By the way, this basketball game was shown while a spanish guitar was playing a romantic melody as a background. They definitely took fanservicing to another level

Franco (Joseph Marco) is the third brother. In the beginning he is the more romantic and more protected one of the brothers. He is kind hearted and has a sense of honor and justice. The actor is again limited but for one reason I put him below Norma and Juan. He showed progress. Nothing spectacular, but he did. From the middle of the series where his character gained more confidence, it was like he was gaining confidence too. At least he became better.

Olivia (Ingid dela Paz) is the youngest child and the little sister that the brothers look out for. She is not aware of the dangers and is very naïve, because she was very protected by her brothers. She is the catalyst that starts the whole story so she is more like a plot devise than character. In every version I watched I wondered again and again why she would have an affair with a married man that could be her father. Yes, I understand that she long for a father figure but she could have found someone without children or not so old. But then, there wouldn’t be a story. And her story is really tragic making me wondering what I was watching, a family drama or a melodrama (some will same it’s the same thing).

The three couples between the Elizondo and the Samonte family are ultimately the driving force of the story – whatever the remake is. They are the core of the story and the emotional pull. Here, sadly, Norma and Juan’s pairing work. Obviously, this is the pairing with the best actors who can convince us that they are in love, they feel betrayed, and they are in conflict. Sari and Oscar are sometimes charming and most of the time uninteresting. But, Jamie and Franco are the most anemic couple. The chemistry between them was nowhere to be found and he was a better character without her.

It is hard to say if this teleserie did a good job as a remake. In beginning there were only a few changes in the plot – except the one where Gabriela is the main villain – but as the series was progressing it was departing from the source material. In the end it is a completely different story with the same basic premise. I like the remakes which add more layers and different aspect to an already beloved story. When it moves in completely different directions, I don’t really consider it as a remake. But this is my opinion.

As a standalone drama it is much easier to express my feelings. This is not a good drama, nor does it fall in the category too-bad-it’s-good. Firstly, it had a mother that was laughing histerically when torturing innocent or not people, a guy that has a long obsession with a woman and kidnaps her in a remote island so he can rape her (I know! This is supposed to be a daily series!), a long lost son who loves deadly poisonous spiders and is drug lord. This is clearly ridiculous. However, if you don’t have solid actors that can sell the craziness, it is advisable not to take yourself too seriously. Make fun of it. Be a cult classic. Secondly, it was too LONG. 295 episodes, with each episode 20-25 minutes long! It took me months to finish it and at some point it was background noise, since some episodes were dragging. So, no, this is not a good drama.

Why you should watch:

• If you like pinoy teleseries.
• If you want to see every remake of passion de gavilanes.
• If you like the actors.
• If over the top, but not funny, melodramas is something you enjoy.

Why not watch:

• If you have something better to do with your life.
• If over the top, but not funny, melodramas is not something you enjoy.
• If you look for solid acting, directing and writing.
• If you don’t like dramas with many episodes.

Final verdict:

5/10. I should have rated it lower but it introduced me to these two actors who I will follow, so there is a plus.