User reviews

Netflix advertised this Spanish-made original series as the most watched in the country just now, so, as ex-pat Scots now living in Spain, my wife and I decided to try it out. Stretched out over thirteen 50+ minute episodes, the story revolves around the awful gang-rape of the young woman of the title in an unnamed Spanish coastal town, but which is obviously Alicante.

She'd earlier been out dancing that night in the company of her girl-friend in a popular bar, while waiting for her loved-up boyfriend Bruno to arrive, but while there her drink is spiked and as she tries to stagger out of the place, she is preyed upon by a "hunter"-gang of three rich kids who not only brutally violate her, but being out-of-control narcissists themselves, they can't resist taking a trophy of the girl's underwear as well as filming the attack on each of their mobile phones. The first and probably biggest of about a bazilion plot coincidences we encounter is that there was actually a fourth young man out with them when the attack was made, none other than Bruno, a long-term but you sense reluctant buddy of the three, who thankfully for him, passes out before the barely-sensible Alba is passed on to him by the other three.

Soon after this we discover that two of the three young men are connected to the big-shot richest family around, who are naturally in the property business with their dirty fingers in every pie, which handily leads us on to the second main plot strand. Here we see an obviously seriously-ill old Mafia don-type patriarch of the family suddenly expire in the presence of just his daughter Mercedes who opportunely sees her own chance to take over the company by callously letting the old man die just after he's told her he's cutting her in for a big share of his succession plans.

From there, over the whole span of the programme, we see Alba attempting to cope in the midst of her trauma by bravely trying to track down the perpetrators and then, once their names become public, compelling them to face justice, but in so doing she runs into the full force of mother Mercedes who'll do anything to prevent her hedonistic, borderline psychopath son Ruben from going to jail. His two co-perpetrators are his cousin, Jacobo, the cool but steely brains of the three who instigated the attack and Hugo, a much more sensitive individual, caught up in the moment of the attack but who we soon learn is actually a repressed homosexual who harbours unreciprocated feelings for the rampantly heterosexual Ruben.

As you'd expect over such a long running-time there are several other sub-plots too numerous to list amongst the large cast of supporting characters, all interlinked with the main action, but to be fair to the writers and director all the loose ends are handily tied up in time for the big climactic, if very Hollywood-type showdown between Jacobo, Ruben and Alba at an abandoned warehouse with her true love Bruno racing to save the day.

Like "Dallas" crossed with "The Accused" on steroids, there's never a dull moment in this series which despite being ludicrously over-the-top in many ways, nevertheless has at its centre the praiseworthy story of a violated young woman daring to stand up for herself and take on her super-rich attackers.

While the writing was at all times hyper-sensational, like a cooking pot with so many ingredients thrown in and the heat turned up so high you expect it to explode, it's just about grounded by the sensitive and convincing performances of pretty much all the main cast with special kudos going to the young actress Elena Rivera playing Alba herself.

It was my wife who chose this series for us to watch and I groaned when I realised it was going to take nearly thirteen hours out of my life, but, truth to tell, I have to admit that I rather guiltily enjoyed this never-a-dull-moment, roller coaster ride of a show.

This could easily be 1 movie instead of 13 episodes show. They added too much drama on top of the leading story.

I also don't understand why Mercedes was obviously the same age as her father in law. That was very distracting. It seemed to me that she was a telenovella actress who by accident appeared in this show.

I don't think it's quite fair for me to rate this yet since I'm on episode 6.... BUT i had to complain about Rubens mother. Her character kills it for me every time she enters the scene... she looks straight out of a telenovela from the 80's. Each scene she enters the show feels like we went back to the 80's. Aside from her , and I'm a fan of every character from Elite, ( Alvaro is in this playing another not so great guy), the cast are great and it's a good binge. Also, it's making me want to visit Spain. Beautiful location.

This drama is a bit on the telenovela side and stretches out a bit too long but the basic premise is horrifying, the storyline brings forth the issues with no apologies and no discounts. It's an in-your-face type series which makes it worthwhile.

Fatmagul was a 10 and exceptional series the whole cast the script the narrative the rythm all elements that made it socially relevant. Alba on the contrary It is an average product that we may easily forget.

A good series about the violent gang rape of a medium class town woman by the sons of the siblings of the richest family. Shows a lot of indirect implications in terms of power, money, corruption, cover up and this makes it worth to watch. Some of the cast participated in other Spanish good series too. It starts a bit slow but then it gets engaging. Settings and imagery are great, a beautiful quaint Spanish seaside town with sandy beaches and pristine waters.

It's too long for its own good, it does have great actors, (Eric Masip, and Jason Fernandez) but they are all underutilized and given subplots of convenience to further an unbelievable and frankly poorly written plot. A story about corruption, unconditional love, greed.

If the series trimmed the fat, got rid of useless characters and focused solely on Alba, the deceit and corruption behind the people who hurt her, the series would have been great. Unfortunately, the runtime is 13 episodes, and each episode drags with unnecessary character development, constant chatter of random crap, and filler... so much filler!!

In my opinion, Jason Fernandez was the only exception, he had a complex development, character arc and climax. The rest of the casting has a mess going on, it all felt very telenovela. I wouldn't recommend watching this unless you are just looking for something to pass the time.

After the 3rd episode I lost patience with this show.13 episodes of more than 50 minutes each to resolve a plot that shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. I've got better things to do!

This was an intense drama about a brutal rape. It shows how it not only affects the victim but also her family, friends and even the community. It was dragged out too long I think. I definitely feel like the story probably could have been condensed into around 6 episodes.

As a normal series, this could have been disposed of in eight episodes of forty minutes each. The writers and producers had different ideas. We got a bloated melodrama of thirteen episodes of fifty to sixty minutes each.

That's not to say it was bad, one just had to get into it in the spirit of this genre. Clues were missed, grotesque crimes were overlooked, byways aplenty appeared as we meandered to a resolution.

The casting of the gang of four was perfect. Éric Madip playing Bruno Costa looked the perfect dopey, goofball fall guy. Pol Hermoso as Ruben Enterrios seemed ever inch the psycho he was playing. Alvaro Rico as Jacobo was excellent as the sinister, least attractive one of the group. Gorgeous Jason Fernández as repentant Hugo Roig shone through as the troubled soldier. Helena Rivera played a good role as the eponymous Alba.

Nonetheless, some scenes and actions couldn't be forgotten even though they were glossed over by the story. César got away with a lot despite his love interest knowing what he'd done. Eloy, supposedly the most cunning company director was outmaneouvred by Mercedes. Miriam got let off everything.

Well, doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement, does it? However, I watched the lot avidly over two days. One has to relax into this genre and put the mind to sleep. Then the inconsistencies don't matter.

I have to point out the good first. Amazing views and scenery so much so that I want to up sticks and move to Spain and live in one of those fabulous houses.

Acting from lead female was really good and most of the other characters although I just could NOT get on with the lead's brother, so out of place. I was unsure whether he had learning difficulties or he was an idiotic hot head. His acting was so bad, I could not work it out!

Now for the not so good.... This show could have been wrapped up in one hour 30 mins. It was an interesting storyline but after episode 3 (of 13) I felt like the life had been drained out of it and I just wanted it over. To endure 10 more episodes was so frustrating that I fast forwarded all episodes from there!!!

Good storyline but so looooooong!!

....and the acting from Alba's brother Toño is truly awful, he's melodrama personified (like soaps from the 70s!) I just can't understand how he was cast as the rest of the ensemble are good. I died inside whenever he was on screen. Bizarre casting. Is he a comedian IRL?

It has a good plot, and very engaging but it really didn't need to be 13 episodes long, and they are long episodes at that.

The location is lovely, I've never wanted to visit mainland Spain but I am tempted now. It is set in Alicante and the old town is very pretty.

Overall I was very engaged by it but I suspect it will be one of those I forget as soon as I finish it. Apart from Toño unfortunately, I think he'll stick in my mind, ugh!

After the first two episodes I almost stopped watching, the acting was so over the top, with everyone screaming and yelling and crying their hearts out, (probably all due to Spanish temperament), that it became pretty tiresome. But gradually I got into the flow of the story, while taking all the theatrical drama for granted. The story got more and more intricate (if not more farfetched) with every episode, and in spite of the overlong duration of 13 one-hour long episodes kept me at least interested and entertained until the end. Which was a tiny bit disappointing: why not an epilogue where we see that justice is finally served? The filming locations by the way (the beachside around Alicante) were wonderful.

As I said, the acting was a bit problematic, with Alba's brother (was he meant to be mentally challenged?) as rock bottom. On the other hand the two major culprits were played excellently by Álvaro Rico and Pol Hermoso, especially Hermoso very convincingly made his character into this hair-raisingly scary, fueled on coke and liquor, ticking time-bomb. I'm a bit at a loss what to think of Elena Rivera as the pivotal Alba. If Alba was indeed meant to be this annoying, self-righteous and vindictive character, then Rivera absolutely did a great job. But to be honest: in spite of her ordeal it was pretty hard to feel any sympathy for this mostly very irritating person.

I don't know if this series will influence the behaviours of drug and booze addled delinquents but such a serious subject was worth visiting. It could easily have been squeezed into 10 episodes and also was pretty flawed and cliché ridden all the way through with some particularly bad acting. Having said that there were also believable performances from various actors and although I wouldn't revisit the series I did watch it till the end to watch the baddies get their comeuppance.

I don't suppose it's done Alicante and Villajoyosa any harm either. I was actually tempted to pay a visit to the area after watching the series.

This really explores the reality of rape. How destructive it is. When I first started watching it I wondered how it could be 13 episodes. It unravels into quite a disturbing and horrific story. How the rich think they can get away with anything. How power and money corrupt. How if you persevere you can overcome wrongdoing. I was an emotional wreck after the final episode. Great performances from a young cast especially the actor who played Alba. She deserves an award. Such emotional depth. All the characters seemed to play around with your emotions. Especially the policeman. I struggled how to feel about him. Loved that about this series. I don't think it was too long as in some comments. I think it's a slow burn that heats up the more it goes on. Brilliant.

It's beautiful use of color and camera placement makes this extremely satisfying to watch. It depicts all characters in a non-biased way. You get to clearly see both sides yet still comprehend that they are implying who is in the wrong.

Character development is highly realistic and not far off from real cases, of course with exception of the trial scenes which I believe were sensationalized. Alba is an amazing character and her relationship with those around her truly warms your heart. I am satisfied with this as a limited series, I don't believe they should continue it, although it'd be interesting to have a prequel that's shorter of course. The ending was well wrapt up and there's no need for continuation.

I think most of the users that review this movie either didn't see it full or just saw another serie.

Also most of them miss the whole point of rape victims that don't get the justice deserved. This movie is all about this while presenting a real issue with young women or even men being drugged and raped while having a night out in clubs around the world.

My only disappointment was with Hugo who should get some justice from the movie for his remorse and struggle with his hidden life.

My advice is to watch the whole serie. Is not boring and the acting is very good. Scenery is also amazing. Overall I would recommend the serie.

I came to the page to see if it had won Spansih awards- bc it /the actors should have. Riveting and an important piece in this day and age.

So many of the actors- even the dubbing actors- were excuisite.