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Netflix's new French series is great.
Too bad there are only five episodes so far
If "Emily in Paris" was a baguette from the writer, then the new Netflix series that takes place in the city of lights, "Lupine", is a hot and quality brioche from the bakery.
This is as smart and witty a suspense drama as it is fun and sweeping, so it's a shame that the number of episodes is currently being skimped
Tags
Omar C.
Lupine
Netflix
Avner Shavit
Sunday, January 10, 2021, 00:00
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Trailer for the series "Lupine" (Netflix)
Since starring in "Connected to Life" at the beginning of the previous decade, Omar C. has established his status as the biggest French star of our generation - he has also been regularly chosen as the second most beloved oasis in the country, and is very popular with the Israeli audience.
François Ozon, for his part, has been one of the most prolific and respected filmmakers in French industry for the past two decades.
Now, the two are joining forces to collaborate for the first time with Netflix - that's how it is, even in France they have begun to understand on which side of the baguette the butter is smeared, and turn their backs on the big screen to direct resources to streaming services.
The result of the collaboration is a series called "Lupine", the five episodes that make up the first part of its first season aired on Netflix over the weekend, and received excellent reviews and seem to have impressive viewing figures as well.
Behind her work is also the TV man George Kay, and the directing work was entrusted to, among others, Louis Latria and Ludwig Bernard, who gained most of their experience in the action hit production plant of Luke Besson and the French-Chilean director Marcella Said.
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Even in France one understands on which side of the baguette the butter is smeared.
Omar C. in "Lupin" (Photo: PR, Emmanuel Guimier, Netflix)
As its name implies, the series is based on the character of the slick and elusive thief Arsene Lupine, who was created at the beginning of the last century.
This is not a well-known figure in Israel and many other countries, but she is a mythological icon in France and in Japan.
Who's Arsene Lupine?
It is commonly called a kind of French version of Robin Hood, due to his tendency to steal from the rich and do good with the poor.
As befits his origin, he does so in an elegant and sleek manner.
This is the crème de la crème of the crooks and costume artists.
Morris Le Blanc began writing Lupine's plots in 1905, and since then they have received a variety of adaptations.
The Netflix series copies the plot to modern-day Paris, and it is important to emphasize that it is not a direct adaptation of the original - its protagonist is not the thief himself, but a man named Asan Diop, played by Omar C. of course. Of the glorious crook.
Inspired by his books, Asan learned how to outwit those stronger than him, and polished his abilities for years to close a family account - he seeks revenge on behalf of his father, who was incriminated by his employer, and ended his life in prison.
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A sort of French version of Robin Hood.
Omar C. in "Lupin" (Photo: PR, Emmanuel Guimier, Netflix)
The same employer turns out to be one of the richest, most linked and corrupt people in France.
He has it all, and Asan ostensibly has nothing - except for everything that Larsen Lupine teaches of course, and over time it turns out to be a great deal.
Thus, he uses the knowledge he has acquired in books to devise tricks and disguises that will allow him to find out who is behind his father's indictment and bring them to justice.
The charm of the series lies in the mixing that takes place in it between then and now.
On the one hand, her style is classic - it has no contemporary stylistic features, such as frantic editing and overuse of gadgets, and as befits the character of a protagonist, it has a kind of gentleness and elegance that is more characteristic of other times.
On the other hand, its content is modern, topical and relevant.
And so, behind the plots of crime, mystery and action, which often slide into absurd districts, hides a very serious preoccupation with questions of race and status.
Asan's father was a comfortable victim due to being a poor immigrant, and his son's condition is not much better.
More than "black", French society has made it "transparent", and it turns the disadvantage into an advantage and takes advantage of the fact that no one bothers to pay attention to it to wear camouflage colors at every opportunity, and outwit those in power who did not notice it until it bypassed them.
The romantic subplots also carry such a burden with them.
In a way that is not yet taken for granted, neither in French culture nor anywhere else, the protagonist's main relationships are with white women - the mother of a child, played by Ludwin Sanya, whom he knew as early as middle school;
And the daughter of his nemesis, played by Clotilde Hasma.
The best actors and actresses in France.
Ludwin Sanya in "Lupin" (Photo: PR, Emmanuel Guimier, Netflix)
Thanks to all this, "Lupine" is not just a fun series to watch and not just escapism for the days of closure, but something beyond - its creators make good use of French classics to discuss French history, and show how it is founded on racism, colonialism, class oppression and capital-government ties.
Alongside the humor and action scenes, she also often wanders into darker districts, for example through the character of a journalist exposing corruption, who named her dog after Emile Zola's famous article in the Dreyfus affair, and her life took a tragic turn due to her daring to reveal what is rotten in France.
Unlike "Emily in Paris", Netflix's previous series that took place in the City of Lights, here the raw materials are excellent: the team consists of the best actors and actresses in France, the directing is skilled and the script is witty.
This time the result is not a baguette from the writer, but a brioche that came out hot from the bakery.
Like a hot brioche.
From "Lupine" (Photo: PR, Emmanuel Guimier, Netflix)
"Lupine", in short, is a series worth diving into, and once you start the first episode - it's hard not to continue. Her only weak point is the character of the arch-villain, who turns out to be too exaggerated and loud, and yet not interesting enough.
A second complaint is about the decision to release only five episodes at the moment, too few, and not immediately bring up the entire first season. Given the suspenseful action, the nature of the climactic moment when the fifth episode ends and the need to fill the closing hours with quality content, this is really incomprehensible cruelty to the viewers - but that's how it is, the French must always do everything differently.
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