Capadocia: A Place Without Forgiveness: S1 review

            Few foreign television series not aired on BBC ever make it to the States, even when they are from neighboring countries. British television seems to be an exception because of how important television is as opposed to cinema in the country, but there are not many outlets to bring solid foreign television outside of the Brits. The exception is HBO’s recent dedication to Latin American series. Alongside this Mexican series, “Capadocia: A Place Without Forgiveness,” they have also released the Brazilian crime series, “Hijo del Carnaval.”

            “Capadocia: A Place Without Forgiveness” is a perfect pair for HBO, gritty with violence that often comes without warning or provocation. The series draws inspiration for real-life events and inmates at an infamous prison in Mexico City. Santa Marta Women’s prison is the inspiration for this series about a Mexican women’s prison which is the first experimental privatized penal complex. The women are used to make clothing for a fashion designer, with the somewhat good intentions of keeping them away from the unsavory elements of their former prison. Unfortunately, those unsavory elements eventually find their way into Capadocia, thanks to the corrupt political figures.

            Each episode of the series chooses one of the women to look at, often utilizing flashbacks to show how they found their way into the prison. The pilot episode begins with the arrest of a housewife (Ana De La Reguera) after the accidental death of her best friend after she accidentally catches her husband sleeping around. This structure allows for some episodes to have more interest than others, though they all continue the narrative of the mistake-filled experimental prison.

            This DVD package includes all thirteen of the episodes from season one, though these are much longer than normal television episodes. Some of them borderline on being feature film length, making this an in-depth and well-developed series, aside from just moments of violence. There is also a sneak peek at Season Two and director commentary tracks on select episodes. Inside the box set there are also collectible character cards included, though they are all in Spanish only.