User reviews

I was very surprised by this mini series.

It show life in a small town with the cartel infiltrated in life in pockets. Most of the episodes move at a slow burn with small character deveoplment across many of the demographic of this small town.

I have to say the ending (last episode) was shocking and really moved me. The fact that this is based on true events that happened in the town of Allenede is even more worrying.

I think when you watch a narco show the gangsters and their life is often glamorised for the screen but here especially the last episode you see the real horror and senseless violence these people inflict to innocent people.

This series portrays the events leading up to the Zeta Cartel's over the top revenge killings in the Mexican border town of Allende, Mexico in March of 2011. The first several episodes set the stage for the events and some of the people that were involved and affected by those events.

With no prior knowledge of this tragedy, I was curious if possibly some of the scenes were sensationalized for dramatic effect. However, after I read the detailed ProPublica article which is easily found online, it includes, witness accounts, confessions, phone transcripts, etc. So that you quickly realize it is a very accurate telling of events.

The series held my interest from the beginning. Some reviews found the pacing a little slow until the final episode, but for me it was interesting getting a sense for the culture in a small Mexican border town and necessary for the audience to become invested in the people that were affected by these events. I felt the acting was convincing and really helped make the characters believable and interesting. Definitely a worthwhile watch in my book and a 7 rating equals "very good" in my view of how ratings should work.

What happened to the American DEA agents that triggered this massacre? What a tragic situation!

My family and I lived the horror of this times in Zacatecas Mexico... this is a masterpiece that portrays the horrors happened there and in others parts of Mexico.

Very sad story, and strong, I first watched the first 3 episodes, I found it confusing at times, the first 3 are more from the families' point of view, too much soap opera for my taste, but there is a terrifying tension that increases in each episode, although I would have chosen more pace and less unnecessary dialogue. I guess is to give us a better idea of the terror that is coming.

The dialogues are very repetitive. Lots of chingada, chingadera, continuously, I guess that's how they really talk, but it seemed a bit exaggerated to me. Mucha chingadera guey! Pendejo, no mames, cabron, and far too much güey!

A lot of frustration and helplessness, the rich richer, and the poor poorer. And the rich are the most stupid of all, you have a ranch but not enough weapons to defend yourself? They are the only ones who deserve what happened to them.

I don't want to offend anyone, I know that it is a tradition deeply rooted in the culture of America... but the tradition of the quinceañera should be abolished, since it is very sexist and pathetic in the century in which we live. Patriarchal and macho traditions that only put women even more in the background.

I really liked the music and the cultural part of a small town in Mexico. I recommend it also because it is a true and terrorific story.

This show captured what almost every small town in Mexico goes thru. Mercedes Hernanadez plays Dona Chiyo and should win every award made for TV.

The perspective was correct, show the human side of the victims instead the glorify criminals. The problem is they made it poorly and boring story. It was not necessary six chapters when three well written would be enough. In summary I hope someone take again this idea and relate it as it deserves.

The series itself is good. Being from the actual town this really happened at, I say much was missed. The real Allende, Coahuila looks nothing like the movie. Neither do the people. The movie is based on true events. But the real tragedy was much different and much more violent. The stories of the people portrayed are much different also.

This show is carried by:

Excellent acting - the only poorly acted roles are the American ones leading a viewer to believe, given the otherwise flawless direction, this was intentional.

Perfect pacing - the show is neither slow nor a string of meaningless action scenes. The comparison with Narcos is inevitable, in terms of pacing these shows are entirely different beasts, because they cover different timescales. I found the pacing as good as or better than it was in Narcos. The directors found a way to tell more story, across fewer characters but broader community.

Carefully crafted dialogue - that spans the entirety of the show. Character development is rich and concise. There is no wasted interaction or frivolous screen time.

Narcos was excellent but this series was simultaneously more and less brutal. The directors are masterful in their application of offscreen story telling. What you do not see is often worse than what you do. A welcome change in a sea of gratuitously violent hollywood offerings - yours truly, a John Wick fan.

This series evokes a deep emotional response. The hopelessness, both knowing and unwitting, of Somos' characters is pervasive but there is not a single line of lament throughout the series.

The ending is masterful. It is not the one you want, but it is the conclusion the story demands.

The show becomes more predictable as is glides towards its crescendo. This intentional unravelling is truly devastating. On reflection we are forced to reckon with a situation many of us probably feel far removed from.

This series brings home the violent, inhumane repercussions of drug and human trafficking. You will both lose and find your humanity in around 6 hours. The impact will linger.

Any attempted "rehabilitation" of trafficking economy criminals should involve mandatory repeat Somos screenings. I cannot think of a more effective or poignant way to illustrate the evils of this scourge.

This is incredibly sad story which actually happened in small Mexican city close to US border.

According to reports up to 500 civilians were murdered by cartel hitmen, many houses were destroyed. Cartel was very cruel, killing children and elderlies.

Last episode really gets you, gives you creeps. The story follow few different families in the city of Allende, ordinary people doing ordinary jobs and paying the ultimate price for just living their life in the most unfortunate place in the world. It is really devastating to see how little human life is worth to cartel.

Leaves you shocked, when you realise that this is in fact not fiction.. but a depiction of a horrendous event.

Bad DEA men cause bad drug cartel to kill innocent victims. The publicity for the movie said it is a fictional story about a drug cartel on the border of Mexico and US and how many people died. Nothing new there. Why not tell the real story to give it some purpose.

Normally, I get really tough on bad movies or shoes and I get giddy over a good movie. Mainly, its over insignificant and subjective reactions while I'm constantly checking on my phone.

Since this was in spoken Spanish I had to read the subtitles and got sucked in right away. It's not Narcos which is more action and gripping action. This series taps into your soul and tests your faith in humanity.

At first I chuckled at the amateurish acting but once I got a sense what was coming I was appreciating the actors and direction much more.

I knew nothing about the Allende story and was blown away at what happened. I read the article that detailed the events and just shook my head.

10 stars for shedding light on this. Well done!

This series was very good,although some acting was quite poor,especially the Americans, you will forget it all due to the ending which is one of the most horrific I've ever seen...truly saddening but a must see.

If you liked the Narcos series you will Love this series.

It was so painful hurtful hit in the gut ! You cannot even imagine that this was the reality ! The last episode was unbearable to watch I was crying almost the whole time. Shame to everyone that took part shame to the humanity.

This was one of the best series I've ever seen. I just couldn't stop watching. How can a real, sad and raw story can become such a piece of art. I can't believe most of the cast aren't even real actors. It's really true that true stories are far more incredible than fiction. It's almost impossible to believe what human beings are capable of. Congratulations to the writers and director that made this story (documentary) so we all come to know these real facts that happened and probably still happening. Beautiful landscapes, photography, music. A real piece of art with such a heartbreaking story.

It's Top Notched.

Slow Beast.

It's inteligelantly made.