The Boy from Medellín

I enjoyed every minute of this documentary. It makes you realize how J Balvn is just a regular human being like the rest of us. To each their own and to me I give it a 10 out of 10.

3 out of 5 stars.

Fair documentary about J Belvin. Behind all the concerts and fame. His struggle with depression. Visiting his home town of Medellin. Which he is about to perform. While there is a political struggle and protests towards the government.

I love J Belvins music. And it was a nice insight to his the other perspectives that he deals with. While trying to be there for his fans.

It was very interesting, but also somewhat painful to watch. As a J Balvin fan I would love to see him happy, but you see how many struggles he has (and you ask yourself why he puts himself through them, being very strict to himself). I think it was intentional to show, that being a star is not what many people would think it is. The title is well chosen - J Balvin is still a boy from Medellin, a star on the outside, but still insecure and very vulnerable on the inside.

Being a star helps with your bank account but it can make life´s lessons harder to learn. On the one hand the ego is flattered by all these fans, on the other hand there is this deep longing to be loved - but it can only come from the inside, and you can clearly see how lost J Balvin sometimes is. So very very brave to show this to the world to see.

This is a great documentary showing the real life of a world class star. Being from Colombia I understand some if the nuances missed in the real life footage. For example, you must have been in Medellín and in the comunas to understand why that portion of the documentary is so relevant. I also liked the fact that José's struggles with mental health.

As he says in the documentary: J. Balvin the artist and José are two different people. Highly recommended.

If you're looking for an entertaining video tour around Medellin and snapshots of its world-class women.....from the perspectives of the luxury SUV of a jet-set celeb, and the terraces of splendid villas in surrounding hills....then this is the show for you!!

The main downside is that J Balvin comes across as a male Reggaeton Judy Garland.......inexplicably.needing constant emotional and medical propping up from a sizeable crew of therapists, spiritualists, physicians, and general minders. Boring after the first 10 minutes......except for his constant wardrobe changes to a new 500 dollar hoodie-tee shirt combo, in each new scene!

The footage of the much-awaited concert suffers from choppy editing and a muddy sound mix, leaving you wondering what all the fuss was about. Basically, as artistically impressive as a Super Bowl Half-Time Show in an "off year".

As for Balvin's "political awakening" in reaction to a barrage of Instagram posts by protestors in Colombia's streets, coinciding with his return to his home town....you feel that his new-found "consciousness" will wear off as soon as he returns to his mansion in South Florida.

Despite my complaints, however, it was a fun couple of hours in front of the tube. Viva Las Chicas de Medellin !!!