L'Amie prodigieuse

Excellent music, a pretty good premise, but also a very original and lively setting along with good acting performances do not necessarily make for a genius TV show when the story is so precisely Italian that it’s actually a bit too much. From the very beginning of the story, people are treating each other worse than prison guards treat prisoners in the worst South American prison. I took me a really long time and a lot of effort to get used to the environment in which the two friends are living. And I actually don’t even know whether I really did get used to it. There are definitely moments here that are worth seeing and hearing in connection with the music. In terms of the score, it seems that Max Richter had a blast working on this one. But there aren’t that many great moments here that would knock my socks off in terms of the screenplay after eight episodes. And the ending, which was cut off quite abruptly, didn’t help make things better, either. I personally think that such a TV show is more relevant for an Italian viewer than for a European viewer, but maybe I’m wrong. (21/12/2018)