HOW A MEXICAN FILM MADE IT TO DUBAI

When Almost Paradise (Casi el Paraiso) lands in UAE cinemas this weekend, it’s not just another international release — it’s a cultural detour.

- By Manjusha Radhakrishnan

Forget the usual Hollywood spectacle or Bollywood musical extravaganza; this one comes straight from Mexico, with a storyline that mixes romance, aristocracy, and a scam big enough to make Tinder Swindler look tame. The man behind it, director Edgar San Juan, calls it “a crazy ride.”

He’s not wrong. The film, based on a classic Mexican novel, follows Teresa — played by Karol Sevilla, once Disney’s golden girl of SoyLuna — as she prepares for the grandest wedding in Mexican history to Italian aristocrat Hugo Conti. But spoiler alert: Hugo isn’t an aristocrat at all. He’s a polished con man and the plot unravels faster than you can say “left at the altar.”

For Karol, who has spent years being everyone's perfect Disney darling, Teresa is a bold step into messier, more dangerous waters.

“It’s very easy to fall into a lie from somebody behind an app or a screen,” she says. “Tinder, Bumble, social media ... people can pretend to be someone else. It was important for me to play Teresa in a way that speaks to young women today, so they don’t fall into the traps of people trying to steal their souls.”

CINEMATIC SORORITY

San Juan was always going to give women the spotlight. “In Mexico, as everywhere, women deserve empowering portrayals,” he insists.

“It was essential to show a character who is strong, beautiful, and intelligent.” With Sevilla, Esmeralda Pimentel, Katie Barberi, and Juridia del Valle in the cast, he’s practically built a cinematic sorority.

The duo are still pinching themselves about premiering in the UAE.

“It’s an honour to bring a Mexican film here,” San Juan says. Local distributor Film Master got this show on the UAE road.