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Ni Una Mas (English Title: Raising Voices) - Series Review |
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Ni Una Mas
(English title: Raising Voices), a Netflix Spanish production,
with eight episodes, three directors, Eduard Cortés, Marta Font Pascual
and David Ulloa, and written by Miguel Sáez Carral and Isa Sánchez and
starring Nicole Wallace as Alma, is not easy to watch, but it is
authentic in its portrayal of the good, the bad, the beautiful and the
ugly of our teenage years. It also most importantly, makes a statement
against rape, sexual abuse and molestation. The supporting characters,
Greta portrayed by brilliant actress Clara Galle, from the Through My
Window trilogy, Nata played by Aicha Villaverde, Berta (Teresa de
Mera) and Alma’s parents, Vero (Ruth Díaz) and one of our favorite
actors Eloy Azorín as Pablo, were all fabulous in their roles. Yes,
the writer of this review / OPED is a man, but a man who has been in
relationships with and had extended family members and friends who were
at some point in their lives as children, teenagers and adults were
victims of sexual predators. Some again became victims in their report
to police or when their cases went to court, others developed PTSD,
borderline personality disorders and other psychological impairments and
/ or attempted suicide. The powerful Ni Una Mas series addresses all of
that and more. The
courage of Alma, to be a female voice that speaks up and against a
sexual predator is not a fantasy, it is what we sometimes see lived out
in society and in the midst of tragedy, they become our heroes. Does
Alma always have her act together? Not always and in fact we might
question at times if she makes more bad choices than good ones but think
back to your high school years and if you were the person that you
turned out to be. There are some poignant moments when Sara Rivero’s
character Mercedes despite her attraction to one of the characters,
makes the right choices. This
series addresses whether it is simply easier for bureaucrats to try to
sweep things under the carpet, to hide messy situations and to try to
blame the victims or will they do the right thing? This
series may make you feel uncomfortable with the language at times, with
the discussion of sex at times or maybe with drug use, but none of them
are exaggerated or used gratuitously and besides sometimes whether in
literature, film, television and the visual arts, sometimes to make a
strong statement, you have to take people outside of their comfort zone. The
series also has LGBTQ+ characters and we cannot say much more, because
it will become spoilers for the series. The
only issue we have with the series, as we do with so many of Netflix
productions is, this is a Spanish production, with the dialogue in
Spanish, so why are there so many songs with English lyrics and that is
not unique to Spanish productions, because it also happens with many
other films and series from other countries. It would be akin to having
an American film with all Japanese or German lyrics for the music. To
the writers who created Alma and to Nicole Wallace we say thank you for
all the girls, teenagers and women who are survivors, and we hope that
early in 2025 you are the recipients of numerous Goya awards. #NiUnaMas #RaisingVoices #NicoleWallaceActriz #ClaraGalleActriz #RivetingRiffs #RivetingRiffsMagazine #RevistaRivetingRiffs #AichaVillaverdeActriz #EloyAzorinActor #TeresaDeMera
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