Is All For Love Worth Sticking With? Complete Review

All For Love is a remake of a Colombian telenovela of the same name. The show initially aired from 1988-90 and was originally called Amar y Vivir. It is an age-old classic telenovela that may have been enhanced for Fox Telecolombia and Netflix.

All 69 episodes ran in Colombia between January and April 2020 and dropped on Netflix simultaneously. As someone who enjoys binge-watching new shows, I can vouch for Netflix’s decision to drop them while they’re hot.

If you’re someone who enjoys watching shows filled with overly dramatic music, lots of unconventional reactions to events, women in skimpy outfits, and uncountable brawls with a daytime soap opera production quality, then this one has been tailored for you.

1. Quick Review

A poor farmer comes looking for his missing sister in Bogotá, Columbia. He falls in love with a singer who helps her parents run a fruit stand. Their love is threatened by his involvement in organized crime.

The premise revolves around a central couple. Both deal with family strife while charming the audience. However, there is bound to be something that comes between them and true love.

2. Is it worth watching?

All For Love is pure escapism. However, the leads and the chemistry they have will leave you so enthralled; you’ll root for their characters to have the happy ending they deserve. Considering this is a telenovela, that isn’t likely to happen.

It has more than a few soapy production values. The slow-motion shots of the central character being chased come across as especially cheesy. Then again, it is a telenovela.

There are gorgeous-looking actors playing heart-wrenching parts. With a constant struggle for power, oodles of chemistry, and an overdramatic flair to the whole series, this telenovela plays out to be an addition to Netflix that has been long delayed.

There is an overbearing amount of drama, a large number of villains, and many, many threads of plotlines. They unspool to be a chaotic mess for those viewers who cannot keep up, to prove that this show may not be for everyone.

I. Plot

Irene Romero (played by Ana María Estupiñán) has aspirations to be a singer and musician. She calls her band Irene and the Miracles. Irene records a video in the Miracle Market in Bogotá, where her parents run a fruit stand.

Her father, Salvadore (played by Julio Sánchez), is one of her strongest supporters. Her mother, Magola (played by Alina Lozano), however, wants her to stay with the fruit stand. She believes that dreams are only for the rich.

Joaquín Herrera (played by Carlos Torres) comes back to his family farm from a 3-year stint in the military. His mother and sister Alba Lucía (played by Valeria Galvis) need help maintaining the farm.

Lauro, the local villain, has wanted to buy out the Herrera farm for a long while, but Joaquín has always refused. Enraged by his return, Lauro’s son kidnaps Alba and sets fire to their farm, where their mother dies.

Two months later, Joaquín is in Bogotá, trying to find Alba. There, he meets Irene in a café while he’s hunting for his sister. They chemistry is palpable and their attraction to each other is instantaneous.

Irene has her own issues to deal with. With Salvadore’s drinking and getting beaten by loan sharks, her plate is full. Joaquín, meanwhile, takes multiple jobs to pay for a private investigator to find Alba.

Can they juggle their deep love for each other while fighting crime lords, death, and poverty while continuing their search for Alba?

II. Music & Visuals

The music director of this series is Fabio Alonso Salgado Mejía. He is a Colombian film and telenovela score composer.

The series’ theme song is an original. Entitled Amar y vivir, it has been sung by Colombian actress and singer Ana María Estupiñán.

This telenovela has been created by Nubia Barreto, who adapted the 1988 version for 2020. Screenwriter Germán Escallón, along with directors Liliana Bocanegra and Santiago Vargas have done an amazing job of establishing two very strong leads in Estupiñán and Torres.

The entirety of 63 episodes rests on the central characters. The chemistry in their first scenes is strong and not-so-subtly apparent. It’s that chemistry that fuels their ups and downs as they fight against adversity and struggle to make ends meet.

3. Final Thoughts & Grade

Irene commits herself to get her father sober, and Joaquín refuses to rest until he finds his sister. The dramatic weight of all the obstacles they have to overcome in pursuit of their love for each other engages people to tune in.

All For Love boasts 63 episodes to play out one love story that struggles to survive in a ruthless world. Although the series might seem as a long-drawn one, fans of the genre know better. With a cliffhanger at its end, All For Love might just be worth the watch.