Series Review
Like all great tragicomedies, Eva Lasting has love at its core. The Colombian show deftly uses the teenage years of young Camilo Granados and his epic romance with Eva Samper at José María High School in Bogotá to weave a compelling story around friendship, love and modern social conventions.
Despite its rather generic subject matter, Eva Lasting effectively subverts the usual narrative format. Eva and Camilo don’t meet and just fall in love. Instead, they go through the full cycle—friendship, heartbreak, unrequited courtship, and gnawing realization. But more importantly, the arc of romance, in all its glory and pitfalls, is well hidden beneath a keenly observant depiction of Colombian life.
Camilo and his boy band – hot boss Martin Salcedo; the musical Rodrigo Arbeláez; good for nothing but the brave Alvaro Castro; and the quiet, handsome Gustavo Pabon – get the shock of their lives when the girls enter an all-boys school. Eva Samper is a fierce and open-minded girl who approaches and befriends the group. It’s not easy at first. The boys share their sweet time with Eva. But he is persistent and cunning enough to reveal themselves. Eva uses the legacy of books and movies and the allure of modern feminism to achieve her goals.
But the journey also has its low points. Eva reveals to Martin that she is just a friend. Colombia is going through a turbulent socio-political phase with disturbing doses of riots, protest marches and the rise of the Medellin Cartel. As the boys witness the historic changes in their lives, a new conscience settles in their minds. Eva Lasting weaves these elements of the story together really well and benefits from its long run of almost 13 episodes. It’s an uncharacteristically long run, but the creators don’t let the show drag or stagnate.
The progression of the plot and characters constantly helps to resolve events that eat up a lot of time in individual episodes. In the background, comments on life in Colombia, changing perceptions of the position of women and the fierce fight against the new drug threat take priority.
Although the claims of writers are not extensive, they are focused on characters and certain events. Jose and Ana are two interesting tools they use to spread their conflicting worldviews; traditionalism and conservationism versus cosmopolitanism. In the balance of these forces, the creators have the opportunity to fill the story with teenage romance.
Eva Lasting has many sizes and dice faces. When you turn it the other way, you find not only something truly Colombian, but an equally important avenue to universal human emotions. These branches from the core of the story give Eva Lasting great variety and multifaceted appreciation. However, the list is not a festivity where characters and subplots are added and then discarded for some purpose. It is for this reason that the transition to other themes and approaches does not create confusion or displeasure in the narrative.
Although the people behind the show’s casting have been called out for not making it age-appropriate, the actors look the part. More importantly, they feel the part so much that you won’t even want to imagine anyone else in their shoes. The list is equally interesting to look at, although Francisca Estevez and (Eva) and Veronika Orozco (Mother) deserve special mention. The pair form the core of the conflicting consciousness in the show, which always manages to bring much-needed dichotomy and variety to the exposition’s coloring.
Overall
Eva Lasting’s most compelling theme is using the books that make up the title of each episode to develop and enrich the story. Using excerpts and relevant themes from those great literary works is inspiring. They fit perfectly into the context of the plot and really shape the central character of Camilo and how we see the show. These classics are the special spice of this tumultuous potpourri of ideas, emotions and drama that make Eva Lasting a true Colombian delight.