I almost missed the boat on this because Walter Presents did not highlight the fact that it stars the great Federico Luppi, long one of my favorite actors. I happened to spot him while watching the trailer at the last minute and power binged all 13 episodes in 1 day. Also stars Miguel Ángel Solá from Carlos Saura's Tango, Fernando Solanas' El exilio de Gardel (which really needs a DVD release, c'mon folks), and Fausto 5.0.
The murder of a popular nightclub owner in Santa Fe, the capital of Santa Fe Province in subtropical north central Argentina, kicks off a series of events that uncovers civic and police corruption and the kidnapping of poor children for sex. The plot follows events after the murder, along with copious use of flashbacks from before it. I found it to be extremely plausible, and I'm a real stickler for that. The reveals, when they come, are earned and none feel like they were pulled out of a hat because the writers ran out of ideas. They also managed to consistently surprise me, which at my advanced age isn't easy. The tension builds steadily throughout and even at 13 48 minute episodes in one day, I didn't feel that the time dragged at all.
The acting, not surprisingly, is exceptional throughout and the characters are realistic and interesting.
The wetlands terrain is used very well to enhance the plot. The cinematography is good and the transitions between scenes are very creatively handled and add to the series' relentless drive.
Along with Cromo on Netflix US, this is the finest series from Argentina that I've ever seen. I hope Walter, MHz or Netflix see fit to bring us more series from Argentina. Currently, Walter Presents is only available via PBS Masterpiece on Amazon Prime and they have not yet added this series to PBS. If and when they do, I strongly recommend it.
