General disclosure:
If you are a Puertorrican woman in your thirties, you know about the eternal struggle. Mostly all of the Island's pop fandom is forced to choose, or walk the path carefully. Allow me to explain:
Ricky Martin__________?_________Chayanne
I've mostly chosen ?, which means that between Ricky and Chayanne I'll always choose Brad Pitt. However, when there is no in between, I'll go for San Lorenzo.
The point is I guess, even if I find him easy on the yes, I am not a Chayanne Fan, so when they told me he was going to be making a mini series, I said good. When they told me the series subject was vampires I signed in with a trembling hand.
This will be a loooong one peoples...
I went into GABRIEL with low expectations, not because of their choice of cast (although Jose Luis Rodriguez sent a bad shiver down my spine), but because of my fear of a weak script. Other than Guillermo del Toro, I haven't stumbled upon a writer that could spin a horror flick in Spanish without turning it in to a ham and cheese sandwich. It is the peril of the Spanish language. Too old, too rich; and people tend to forget that vampires are malleable creatures, chameleons of sort whose business is adapt or die. I really feared to hear what these vamps had to say. I was bracing for the 18th century brain on the streets of South Beach. I was pleasantly surprised that the dialogue was neither excessively cliched, nor ridiculously casual ( I'm still struggling with TWILIGHT, I'm sorry, it was a traumatizing experience).
Still I couldn't believe how they managed to avoid all the trappings and pit falls of the genre while sticking to a classic story. I am not being negative about the production, but I did start with doubts, so my review is kind of a photographic exposure one... bring out the light outlined by the negative.
Lots of things could have gone wrong, for example, the supernatural within itself. Not only did we have vampires, but also witches, ghosts and psychics. However, the writer took all in consideration and triangulated the three women in a sort of maiden mother and crone formation that pushed the narrative forward. One character knows the past, the other deals with the present and the third woman looks into the future with the knowledge and strenght provided by her two confidants.
Another well balanced element is that of the original source of the vampire. In this case, this being a Latin American production, they gave the old European aristocrat it's well deserved twist as vampirisim is a curse born of a land tired of being bathed in the blood of the innocent victims of "La Conquista." It also fits perfectly with the idea of an battle that can span ages, the conquistador trying to eradicate a mongrel bloodline that thrives even as the world he once believed an empire slowly collapses and dies.
And then there is the point that separates this particular series from any other, a character exploration venue that Anne Rice learned to master with subtlety and hardly no other writer dares to tackle: the theological implications of eternal life in a mortal plane. I was hit unexpectedly by a tale of redemption that managed to give good it's place without turning out to be excessively preachy.
I've always had a problem with the portrayal of the forces of good in vampire fiction, specially when it comes to spiritual matters. Good is always represented by the hunter, or the priest, the problem with these characters is that somewhere along the way, they become failing archetypes. They either loose their way or their faith, and in turn, dig their own graves.
In GABRIEL, the power of good and evil are complementary in the scale of things. They manifest themselves no more in the realm of monsters and the supernatural, than they do in our own. Vampires are just thrown into the mix, they are no greater than the best of sinners or more mystic than the best of saints. They are creatures of choice and consequence. For the first time, since Anne Rice injected this piece of cannon into the vampire mythos, someone else has the stones to flesh it out. Vampires are body, spirit and soul, just like anyone under a Western Theological Dogma. The only difference resides in their souls being infected by an unwanted (well most of the time- it's not like everybody wakes up wanting to be a bloodsucker) demonic element that inflicts both upon body and psyche. Yet, this element, although powerful, is still ultimately bound to the self and that double edge sword of a gift that is Freedom of Choice.
The theme that holds this series together is not the quest for a long lost and unretreavable humanity- subject that plagues most of the "romantic" vampire subplots- but the coming of terms with a monstrous existance, via spiritual reconciliation. It's after all a story about chances, you know those that I'm a sucker for.
All and all the character development was excellent, the story, although traditional in a sense was well developed and the resolution.... well, I am not spoiling but as in all vampire stories witha tinge of romance- it is satisfactory.
The Quote: "El destino es la excusa de los debiles"/ "Fate is an excuse for the weak" -Padre Miguel
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