Pritish Appadoo

I finished watching this a year ago during a re-run. Avenida Brasil was a massive success not just in its homeland but also in many Spanish-speaking countries like Argentina. This success however needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. The main factor here is that compared to the 1990s-2000s, Globo massively improved its distribution, ensuring this programme got shown not just in Brazil, but was also dubbed in Spanish to target audiences in Argentina and Mexico. There were equally good or better telenovelas from the past which sadly did not receive the same treatment. Having said that, Avenida Brasil is very good entertainment, of which I have to highlight the following positives: -The "double-barreled" plot structure whereby one apparent villain (Carminha) is actually masquerading for the real villain (Santiago), whose true character only emerges late on. -Very good performances from many of the actors, particularly Adriana Esteves and Juca de Oliveira who seem to have lost none of the chemistry they displayed in Torre de Babel 14 years earlier. -Marcos Caruso, Bianca Comparato, Ailton Graça and Bruno Gissoni are some of the other ones that did well. -Good soundtrack, the Brazilian artists (Seu Jorge, Rita Lee, Aviões do Forró) are actually far better than the international ones. It's a great chance to hear solid Brazilian songs. -Debora Falabella is a great actress, though I found her character Nina irritating (similar observation for Isis Valverde: her performance in an otherwise annoying character is commendable). -Nathalia Dill: flawless as Débora! She has the perfect angelic face for this kind-hearted character who keeps saving others even though Jorginho doesn't care for her as much as she deserves. Eventually Debora manages to meet her own love in Iran (Bruno Gissoni). Some things I enjoyed less: -Aside from Nina and Débora, portrayal of the female characters is largely negative. Most of them are stupid and judgemental (Muricy), spineless (Tessalia) or gold diggers (the three wives of Cadinho). Mona Lisa is one of the few that exhibits real guts. -There were not many likeable characters amongst the male ones either. -While Cadinho and his "wives" do provide a lot of comic relief, when you think about it they represent an embarrassingly complacent portrayal of philandering, greed and lust. -Parts of the plot (like the vengeance of Nina and Jorginho and the fake love story involving Max and Nina) dragged on needlessly. -Vera Holtz and Fabiula Nascimento are rather annoying, but the most annoying of all is Eliane Giardini. I have watched her in 3 different novelas and she never fails to annoy! Overall it remains a show worth watching, while not the best I have seen.

I consider this show a hoax, and I’ll explain why. First part: moves promisingly, a lot of build-up in tension. One feels some revelations of biblical proportions are coming at some point. The people working in the lab in particular appear highly suspicious, and then there are the sub-plots related to Jade’s love affairs and Mel’s drug use. Then it all falls flat in the second half until final episodes. Nothing truly happens! There is no major revelation about the cloning of Lucas and Diogo and the mess it created, everything seems to go back to where it was when the plot began. It also doesn’t help when actors whom you’ve previously seen as highly capable end up looking terrible here, because the characters they play are essentially worthless and vacuous. Leticia Sabatella: as disastrous as she was inspired in Torre de Babel. Vera Fischer is by far the worst offender. She was so remarkable as Helena in Laços de Familia, how could she accept this role of a superficial, vain woman who thinks the world owes her a living? To make matters worse her appearances alongside Leonidas are always accompanied by that annoying piece of music, Luna. Juca de Oliveira spends his time looking confused, dumb and dumbfounded: not someone you want to trust as a scientist! Eliane Giardini remains as annoying as ever, so amongst the actors I already knew I have to single out Victor Fasano, Juliana Paes, Viviane Victorette and Stenio Garcia as the ones who emerge with some credit left. Victor Fasano is entertaining: he's something of a playboy in his TV roles, but he doesn't overdo it. His chemistry with Juliana Paes and Beth Goulart was pleasing to witness. As for the characters, they represent the most despicable, unrelatable set of people I have ever come across in any telenovela. There is barely one of them that appears to have any redeeming qualities, the worst being the arrogant Leonidas and Maysa Ferraz. Edna and Deusa spend their time hanging out to outrageous beliefs, Lucas and Jade are kids that never want to grow up… I could go on. I always contrast this to Laços de Familia, where the characters appeared human, relatable and mostly mature. They made you almost feel as though you wanted them to be part of your family. Or even Torre de Babel, with the anti-hero Jose Clementino who has a great character development arc. Here, almost everybody appears to exhibit a multitude of major character flaws: greed, lust, callousness, lack of professionalism, and more. One rare highlight comes from the characters of Mel Ferraz and Xande, played by Debora Falabella and Marcello Novaes respectively. Theirs is a touching love story in which Xande keeps waiting for Mel and forgiving her even as her drug use issues spiral out of control. The chemistry of the two actors already promised a lot ahead of Avenida Brasil. Eventually Mel comes clean. Debora Falabella showed great ability in that role, which I compare to the work of Carolina Dieckmann as Camila in Laços de Familia. She found the right tone and melancholic facial expressions for this challenging role. Dalton Vigh also does well as Said, a man who appears genuinely in love with his wife but has to keep fighting against the ghost of Lucas.

I don't usually follow Telemundo programmes but have to admit I found Más sabe el diablo really good, with an entertaining and suspenseful storyline. The fact that until very late Manuela is living together with the enemy - her husband Martin - amplifies the drama. Gaby Espino is simply gorgeous, got to be one of the most beautiful South American actresses to have ever existed. She displays very good chemistry on screen with both Jencarlos Canela and Miguel Varoni, who excels as the brazen villain Martin Acero. Karla Monroig shines as well. Those four actors are supported by a very good international cast of actors from a diversity of Spanish-speaking countries. Characters like Leon Beltran, El Principe and Cachorro bring additional flavour to the show. Finally, while this does not impact the plot, I feel the theme song was one of the best I have ever heard for a telenovela.

I watched this after following many Brazilian and Mexican telenovelas and found it disappointing to say the least. Very irritating characters, including Ivo and Mili, though their respective actors do a fine job. Repetitive filming of scantily-clad dancers that bring nothing to the story and eventually Milagro chooses the guy who frequently treated her poorly (Ivo) over Pablo who was a gentleman. Sadly I have to agree with the comments that say this show had very machismo undertones. Among the few positives there was Rocky for comic relief, solid performances from Veronica Vieyra, Victoria Onetto and Gabriela Sari and above all Segundo Cernadas, superb in the role of the heartbroken lover Pablo, still mourning for his Veronica. Pablo was the best character who deserved a better conclusion.

Marimar starts beautifully and develops into a nice rags-to-riches story. However from the moment the main character (Marimar) becomes wealthy the plot becomes extremely boring.

This was broadcast in my country in 2002, with French-language dubbing. Since then I have been lobbying my local television network for a re-run, without success. It is a top telenovela. I have watched so many over the years: Torre de Babel, Clone, Avenida Brasil (also Globo), Luz Clarita & Catalina-Sebastian (Mexico), Muneca Brava (Argentina). Not a single of these makes me as nostalgic as Laços de Família; for the 1st time in my life I understood what Brazilians mean when they talk of "saudade". I don't know any other telenovela which explored its setting so well. Avenida Brasil tried but it was repetitive & you can't compare the commercial vibe expressed in the songs of Katy Perry with the authentic Brazilian feeling heard in the songs of Astrud Gilberto, Caetano Veloso or Skank. The soundtrack is a major strength of this show, going hand it hand with the city of Rio as well as specific characters who each have their theme song. My favourites remain Samba de Verão by Veloso and Faith Hill's Breathe: when those start to play in the background I feel as though time's coming to a stop. The actors are all wonderful. As mentioned earlier, one may not like certain characters. But you simply cannot fault the quality of the cast and its ability to blend into roles. It feels as if they had prepared all their lives to play that specific role Maneco had for them. Vera Fischer for example, seen her in other programmes but she truly peaks as Helena. Marieta Severo: epic. Carolina Dieckmann has a difficult role which got her a lot of unnecessary hatred instead of praise for her performance. I found her excellent: she has just the right melancholic facial expression to play this girl who is lost with life's challenges and not always fair towards her mother. I remain most impressed with the work of Tony Ramos. He is an actor I knew from Torre de Babel, but I did not recognise him as Miguel in Laços de Família. An unbelievable 180-degree transformation! He strikes just the right tone for this gentlemanly, intellectual widower who loves his children. Speaking of Tony Ramos and his character Miguel, I have to conclude with a note about an underrated character who did not fully get the credit she deserved: Ciça, the daughter of Miguel. This feisty and bossy character was actually full of love for her father and brother, caring for them in the absence of her dead mother. Sadly people mostly seem to remember her for being a big mouth rather than the cement that held together a broken family. The portrayal of her caring relationship with her father was remarkable. She was possibly the only female character on the show who illustrated a positive daughter-father relationship, we need more inspiring examples like this one. The actress in that role was Júlia Feldens. She was an atypical actress: pretty but not in a conventional way, with spectacular facial expressions. I had quite a big crush at the time, can't believe she didn't have a bigger career after that. I still cannot forget those priceless facial expressions of hers and that cute Martika-like haircut I fell in love with when I was 14. Also she was stylish and classy in the way she dressed, a welcome change from those actresses who bare flesh for no reason. Estou com muita saudade de você Júlia. There's a part of me that will always keep thinking about her and will never get over her retirement.

Love it, the drama is heart-wrenching and unsettling. Very good cast and it's nice to see images of Brisbane where I was a university student many years ago.