While he may not exactly have been the nicest guy in the world, Pablo Escobar is certainly a fascinating figure. He became a billionaire by getting drugs into the US and as a results was one of the world’s most wanted men. However his cash also meant it was difficult to touch him, as he could pay Colombian officials off and have anyone killed he wanted.
He was revered by many in the area he lived as a kind of Robin Hood figure, as he used large chunks of the cash he made to help the local area. Incidentally, he also built a zoo in the compound where he lived, and now there are hippos living wild there, as while the house has fallen into disrepair it’s proved impossible to move the semi-aquatic mammals.
Escobar: Paradise Lost looks at part of the drug kingpin’s story, following young surfer Nick (Josh Hutcherson) who thinks all his dreams have come true when he goes to visit his brother in Columbia. Against an idyllic backdrop of blue lagoons and white beaches he falls madly in love with a beautiful Colombian girl called Maria. It all seems perfect until he meets her uncle, one Pablo Escobar (Benicio Del Toro.
The film will be out in the US on January 16th, but there’s no UK date as yet.