In a year in which we were not too convinced by what we have seen in Spanish fiction, this fall it seems that we are on the right track to finish on a note. On the one hand right now we have ‘¡García!’ and now another firm candidate for series of the year arrives at Atresplayer Premium, ‘The route‘.
Set between the 1980s and 1990s, the series takes us to the heart of the bakalao route (or destroy) through the story of some friends. The first episode, set in 1993, takes us through Marc Ribó’s farewell night (Alex Monner), a successful DJ about to be booked for a nightclub in Ibiza.
Chapter by chapter we go back in time from the end of Marc’s stage in the Valencian night to the beginning of everything. An interesting decision in which, little by little, we are better understanding the motives of each of the members of this group of friends in what we jump between weekends that define them throughout the long decade that has passed.
A festive and conscious series
Already that first episode, of the eight that make up ‘La ruta’, perfectly set the tone. Beyond the musicote, the “total machine”, and “the pastis”, there is a lot of heart put when it comes to portraying that world, that disco phase as an escape valve for one (or several) generations, as a form of expression.
Something in which the writers, led by Borja Soler and Roberto Martin Maiztegui as creators (with the former also directing), they influence but without falling into idealization. There is no longer a nostalgia for the time, but a look as festive as consciousCompromised, to say the least.
‘La ruta’ also shines for its careful production, which goes beyond the mere recreation of places but rather tries to capture the culture to be portrayed in the most reliable way possible. And, I think it does. Or at least one has the feeling of having fully immersed in the Valencia of the 80s and 90s.
A journey of maturity and machine
In this way, each episode of ‘La ruta’ (at least the three that I have been able to see) absorbs us in a vibrant spiral, a reverse journey of maturity in which to reconcile with what we were and with the events that marked this group of boys.
A completely charismatic cast helps in that sense (Monner, Claudia Salas, Elisabet Benavent, and Ricardo Gomez.) and wanting to play and have as much fun in the series as their characters would have at the party. There is great chemistry between them and from the first moment we clearly distinguish how they fit into the multifaceted group.
In short, ‘The route’ is positioned as one of the essential series of the year. A fascinating story about the life of a group of friends that goes far beyond the portrait of youth and the Valencian scene to offer an absorbing story.